By Victor Gold (5-1-09)

Today is twenty-two days, which is three weeks and one day of the Omer.

 

It is a tradition to count the days between Passover and Shavuot, as we mark our freedom from slavery and celebrate our freedom to accept Torah. This is called "counting the omer." This year we will observe the tradition of "counting the omer" by sharing stories about the many different ways that we have been turned on to Jewish learning, and through Jewish learning to Torah.

Every Sunday morning for more than ten years, I have studied Torah with friends in Temple Emanuel's Rashi class.   They were mostly strangers at the start, but they are all friends now.  We became friends because the Torah study is really all about us.  No matter what chapter or verse is the subject of a given class, the discussion immediately turns to our families, triumphs, tragedies, fears, doubts and beliefs.  There is a unique and intense intimacy created between people when they speak of their struggles to understand life and give it meaning.
 
Some years ago I said in class that I did not believe in the existence of a personal, loving god.  One of my classmates was upset, not because my attitude challenged her own beliefs, but because it seemed to her that my doubts deprived me of the joy and comfort she derived from those beliefs.  It was as pure an expression of friendship as I have experienced.  Charlotte Behrendt was genuinely sad for me, but encouraged me to keep struggling with my faith.
 
Shortly thereafter, Charlotte was diagnosed with cancer.  We continued to study with Charlotte for as long as she was able.  When she died, our class mourned her together.  I still think of Charlotte every Sunday morning as I continue the struggle to understand and believe.

By Victor Gold

These stories are brought to you by the Temple Emanuel RE-IMAGINE project, an 18-month initiative sponsored by Hebrew Union College, devoted to re-thinking and re-structuring our religious school.