When a Thing is More than a Thing
(Published in The Outreach, December 2002)
The Outreach is the newsletter of Valley Outreach Synagogue, Reseda, California
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Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to be attached to sacred events.” (The Sabbath)
The essence of his treatise is that God’s gifts to the world are both time and matter. We are therefore challenged to live for time and its
blessings rather than to devote ourselves to the tangible and more accessible blessing of things. What a challenge this is for a society that
practically worships the attainment of material wealth. How ironic it is that it can be our celebration of wealth that impoverishes us.
It is interesting to note that there is no equivalent for the word “thing” in biblical Hebrew. Heschel points out that the word “davar”
which in later Hebrew came to denote “thing”, means in biblical Hebrew: speech; word; message; report; tidings; advice; request; promise;
decision; sentence; theme; story; saying; utterance; business; occupation; acts; good deeds; events; way; manner; reason; cause; but never
“thing.” Judging by the richness of biblical language, we can assume that it was not linguistic poverty that robbed our ancient language of
such a word, but rather a spiritual intent; that a “davar” was indeed an event, an occupation of time and not an object in space.
So how can we occupy our time in a more meaningful way? How can we elevate the ordinary to the level of miraculous? Our daily lives and
Jewish calendar are filled with opportunities. As we enjoy Hanukkah, amidst the celebration of materialism that characterizes this time of
year, we can unwrap and enjoy the priceless gifts that belong to each of us. We can savor the foods, games and rituals as miraculous
experiences in themselves. We can dwell on the people with whom we surround ourselves and the multitude of blessings that are ours. Are they
any less incredible than the triumph of the Maccabees or the oil that lasted eight days?
Wishing you a very happy and healthy Hanukkah,
Cantor Ron Li-Paz
