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It takes silence to hear the message of Torah
BY: RABBI EDDIE SUKOL
Insight into: Yitro
I believe that every Jewish soul stood at Mt. Sinai when the Torah was given. While I may not know exactly what happened at that historic and amazing moment of revelation, what took place there shaped Judaism and forever changed the world. The revelation at Sinai remains a sacred experience, unique in our Jewish religious and cultural tradition.
This week’s Torah portion, Yitro, provides us with the Torah’s description of the events at Mt. Sinai. Moses was on top of the mountain; the Israelites, at the base. But the Torah is somewhat sparse with details. It was left to the rabbis to describe what may have been the scene.
Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: “When the Holy One gave the Torah, no bird chirped, no fowl flew, no ox bellowed … The sea did not roar, creatures did not speak n the whole world was hushed into breathless silence …”
Imagine a complete and universal silence. No sound, no motion, nothing but profound silence. The people stood in anticipation, waiting for the Divine voice to begin. Only at that moment were we able to hear God’s voice speaking to us. It required total silence so that we could hear, truly hear God’s message.
In what is surely an act of Divine chutzpah, the first utterance of the Ten Commandments begins with the Hebrew letter aleph, the silent letter! As if it were not already quiet enough, God begins speaking with silence. Think how carefully and attentively we had to listen to hear the silence of Divine speech.
The meaning of God’s silence, coupled with the deep silence of the world at the moment the Torah was given, is surely an important part of this story. The meaning of that silence transcends time.
One of the consequences of modern life is that our world is filled with background noise n the television and radio, the sound of traffic and sirens, the electric hum of light fixtures, the ringing and buzzing of cell phones and pagers n the list of noise sources is seemingly endless. I do not lament the times we live in, nor do I reject the advances that technology affords us. But I wonder just how much all that noise drowns out and extinguishes the silence that enabled us to hear God’s voice.
Perhaps part of our task in living a rich and full Jewish life is to reclaim the sublime silence that we heard when we stood at Sinai. When we listen carefully, we may again hear that silence and then be able to relive the revelation of Torah.
Rabbi Eddie Sukol recently founded The Shul, an educational and spiritual outreach initiative in the Cleveland Jewish community. He can be reached at ejsukol@aol.com.
I believe that every Jewish soul stood at Mt. Sinai when the Torah was given. While I may not know exactly what happened at that historic and amazing moment of revelation, what took place there shaped Judaism and forever changed the world. The revelation at Sinai remains a sacred experience, unique in our Jewish religious and cultural tradition.
This week’s Torah portion, Yitro, provides us with the Torah’s description of the events at Mt. Sinai. Moses was on top of the mountain; the Israelites, at the base. But the Torah is somewhat sparse with details. It was left to the rabbis to describe what may have been the scene.
Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: “When the Holy One gave the Torah, no bird chirped, no fowl flew, no ox bellowed … The sea did not roar, creatures did not speak n the whole world was hushed into breathless silence …”
Imagine a complete and universal silence. No sound, no motion, nothing but profound silence. The people stood in anticipation, waiting for the Divine voice to begin. Only at that moment were we able to hear God’s voice speaking to us. It required total silence so that we could hear, truly hear God’s message.
In what is surely an act of Divine chutzpah, the first utterance of the Ten Commandments begins with the Hebrew letter aleph, the silent letter! As if it were not already quiet enough, God begins speaking with silence. Think how carefully and attentively we had to listen to hear the silence of Divine speech.
The meaning of God’s silence, coupled with the deep silence of the world at the moment the Torah was given, is surely an important part of this story. The meaning of that silence transcends time.
One of the consequences of modern life is that our world is filled with background noise n the television and radio, the sound of traffic and sirens, the electric hum of light fixtures, the ringing and buzzing of cell phones and pagers n the list of noise sources is seemingly endless. I do not lament the times we live in, nor do I reject the advances that technology affords us. But I wonder just how much all that noise drowns out and extinguishes the silence that enabled us to hear God’s voice.
Perhaps part of our task in living a rich and full Jewish life is to reclaim the sublime silence that we heard when we stood at Sinai. When we listen carefully, we may again hear that silence and then be able to relive the revelation of Torah.
Rabbi Eddie Sukol recently founded The Shul, an educational and spiritual outreach initiative in the Cleveland Jewish community. He can be reached at ejsukol@aol.com.
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