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How a Dvar Torah 'Works'
Ben Bag Bag says, 'Turn it, Turn it, for all is in it.' (Pirke
Avot 5). The beauty of Torah is that this ancient text somehow
speaks to us today. Gershom Scholem explains that according to
the Rabbis, 'Truth is given once and for all, and it is laid down
with precision.' In other words, the scholar or darshan, simply
needs to 'uncover' or re-discover truths that may have been neglected
or hidden. Rabbi Harold Kushner once related, 'The Torah is like
a mirror. Every person looks into a mirror and sees a different
face.' (Watch the video clip; download the required vivo plug-in).
The beauty of a dvar Torah is that every individual can help others
'see a new and different face' that they may have never noticed
or thought of in that exact way before. There is no 'right answer'
(or even 'right question') in any 'dvar Torah.' Interpretations
of Torah and Torah itself, exist on multiple levels. As Joel Rosenberg
has said, 'The true sacredness of a text, then, rests in its power
to generate interpretation.' Don't be afraid of finding or saying
something 'new.'
In summary, a successful dvar Torah both has insight into the
Torah text AND insight into our lives today. If people say, 'Wow,
I didn't know why some people have blue threads in their tzitzit
(tallit's fringes)' (and where they come from), AND, 'Wow, I
never thought about how the performance of mitzvot evolve,' or
'Hmmm, when and how do I identify myself as 'Jewish' by the things
I wear?' then the dvar Torah has worked on both levels.
What it is
- not preaching; sharing your study
- any Jewish text can be used, but it is customary to connect with
the week's (upcoming) Parasha
- multiple ideas; synthesis; bridge personal (scientific, contemporary,
or professional) and textual
- a dvar Torah can include questions, not only answersbut real
(open-ended) questions, not guess-what-I'm-thinking questions
- it is not uncommon (depending on your audience and time frame)
to include (often begin with) a SHORT summary of the Parashah
(but don't let the summary take the entire time of your d'var
Torah!)
Some general guidelines
- prepare; take it seriously
- KISS: consider one word, one verse, one paragraph at most that
you find pivotal
- consider your audience; a d'var Torah should address, inspire,
repair, even challenge or provoke, but not hurt.
- examine traditional sources and critical scholarship
- don't be afraid to disagree with tradition, but take tradition
seriously; (relate new idea to tradition)
- recognize multiple levels of interpretation; try different approaches
- don't be afraid to include non-Jewish perspectives (but identify
them as such)
- dig deeper, dig for the less obvious; what else can you say about
the text; what psychology/philosophy do you find beneath a law;
what is the relationship between some legal material and a parallel
narrative, for example
- consider non-traditional delivery: art form, journal entry, etc...
Although anyone can give a good dvar Torah (regardless of their
training or background), preparing a dvar Torah does take some
serious work. You can't expect to do a good job if you spend fifteen
minutes preparing. A good dvar Torah is not just reading something
you 'find on the Net,' although of course, the Internet is an
amazing resource which can be extremely helpful (see resources below).
So how to begin? First, you have to identify an issue.
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