Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome. I'm Rabbie David Lyon from Congregation about Israel in Houston. Lately,
I've been enjoying not only an art exhibit at the
Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, but also the book
related to it called Living with the Gods by Neil MacGregor.
In it, he helps us to appreciate all manner of
(00:22):
religion and religious practice through history, through imagery, through archaeology, anthropology,
and more. And it's a vivid way of helping us
to see our own connection and relationship to religion in
our own life. In his book, in a section called
the Power of Images, he writes that religious attitude which
(00:46):
says that originality is not what you prize, but what
you look for and value is reliability for a way
of entering into the ongoing stream of a common life.
You know, our Western trained mind seeks evidence and originality,
and so when we seek evidence that something actually exists,
(01:11):
it works, and in a scientific experiment it can be repeated,
then we rely on it. We look for originality. Therefore,
for what is meaningful to us, even in a religious
and not scientific setting. Very often it's the thing that
we can date back to a particular time to say
(01:33):
that it is original, it is verifiable, and if it
can be, then we take it seriously, We make it
our very own, we venerate it, call it provenance. For
those of you who have watched Antique Road Show on PBS,
you know that sometimes we find that the item that
(01:55):
we bring is more valuable because of its provenance. Story
can take us all the way back to a point
of origin that helps us feel that it is carrying
more value, more power, more intrigue. That's the way we
generally find value in things that are important to us,
including our religious considerations and commitments. But what McGregor points out,
(02:22):
through history, we find that it isn't only originality that
is important to us when we consider our commitment to
faith ideas, but rather also reliability. Reliability is the source
of our faithful and Western sensibilities to accept something as sacred.
Something that's reliable has endured over centuries and centuries and
(02:46):
come down to us as a part of the inheritance
that we've acquired by way of spiritual, religious, cultural, and
other parts of who we are. Our ethnic identity is
wrapped up into what we consider not only original, but
even if it isn't original, can't be proven to be original,
(03:08):
it is nevertheless reliable. So as a rabbi, as a
teacher in Judaism, we call the Torah something that is
not only original but also reliable. But as a reform
rabbi who is trained in the scientific method as well,
we consider who wrote the Torah? How did it come
(03:30):
down to us? Was it actually revealed by God to
Moses on Mount Sinai and every single word in the
Torah is actually God's word? As a reform rabbi trained
in a more scientific manner, we would answer the question no,
but we would say that it was inspired by God
(03:51):
and written by man, and source criticism would lead us
to conclusions that reveal that there is a hand in
the Torah writing, that is the hand of the Redactor,
and the hand of the Redactor might sew up some
issues or close certain chapters in ways that are quite remarkable,
(04:12):
literary and extraordinary. So the Tora, even if it isn't
original from Sinai, as some Jews may claim, does not
make it any less reliable. And the reliability factor or
the reliability test, is vital to us in Judaism, in Christianity,
(04:33):
in Islam, and other faith traditions too, because the stories
in the Torah, whether they are true as written or
just stories that have come down to us, still contain
the most enduring lessons, the most reliable ideas about who
we are as a people and why we remain so
(04:55):
deeply committed to them, and the covenant that binds us
to our God. Let's take, for example, a troubled character
in the Torah. Let's take Abraham. Abraham, the first Jew,
who followed God's commandments to leave everything behind and to
go to a place that God would show him. We
(05:15):
find that in Genesis chapter twelve. But Abraham was tested
in chapter twenty two, in the portion we call the
ake Dah the binding of Isaac's story. My goodness, God
sent Abraham to Mount Moriah to bind his son Isaac
and to slaughter him. Near the end of the story,
he lifts up his eyes and there in the thicket
(05:36):
was a ram, caught by its horns, and instead of
his son, he sacrificed the ram. The story has been
a source of so much intrigue and questions over generations
and generations. What kind of test did Abraham endure? Did
he pass it? Did he fail it? Did God pass
it did God fail it? These stories are at the
(05:57):
heart of who we've become as a pieceeople, and how
we measure ourselves against such benchmarks and standards, and ask ourselves,
what is the test that we have endured? And if
Abraham endured the most remarkable tests, then certainly we can
pass all of ours. And many more conclusions have been reached.
(06:20):
But whether that story actually happened doesn't matter. It is
a story that is told in the Torah, has come
down to us through generations in the most enduring ways
and the most authentic manner, through commentaries and interpretations that
it continually maintained their tie and thread to an original
(06:42):
story that had been studied for centuries. So it becomes
ours because it's original in the form that we find it,
and extraordinarily reliable in the way that we have inherited it.
And it's a story that doesn't end with us, that
continues with us, reliability that need to interpret and learn
(07:02):
from it will continue in the generations to come. Let's
take a numble other character like Moses. Moses, of course
we know so well, not only because he was made
famous by Hollywood movies, but because of his extraordinary leadership
and what he represents not only for Jews, but many
others who have made their own exodus from place to place.
(07:23):
But Moses too is troubled. At the beginning, he slayed
an Egyptian taskmaster because he was cruel to the Israeliite slaves,
but also demonstrated great compassion to the flock that he
watered when they needed it, and led the people through
the wilderness journey, doing the best that he could and
(07:45):
sometimes even failing in the pressure of leadership that he endured.
Did everything happen exactly the way the tour records it,
We have no archaeological evidence to prove that it has.
But what does come down to us extraordinary lessons and
the meanings that we have drawn from it through authentic
(08:06):
study and interpretation. To so originality. We might claim that
it is an old story that takes us all the
way back to the beginning of our people and it's
covenant with God. But let's original is our concern, and
more reliable is our celebration that this reliable story is
told around our Passover story every table every year and
(08:30):
continues the bindness as a people, as a religious community
and in covenant with God. That kind of reliability is
a test that we can use in every faith, tradition,
and every step of our own spirituality. So we would
ask you what is your faith? What is sacred to you?
(08:51):
And why is it a book? Is it a teaching
an icon? Is it a story, a value or an idea?
As a character like Abraham and Moses, who I call
troubled at first, how did visit that they became exalted
characters as well? Abraham, Moses, even Miriam quite exalted for
(09:13):
all that they overcame their human tendencies, their human lives
that we can identify with make them very real to us.
We want to know more about them because as a result,
we learn more about ourselves. They do represent ideals in
many ways, but also very human qualities that we can
(09:36):
emulate or strive to emulate in some small way perhaps.
But it is their reliable nature, found in a reliable
text and found in a reliable process that has delivered
all of this to us in our own time. We
sometimes also use the word relevant. I use that word
(09:58):
to mean that we have drawn with us from the
past remains meaningful to us today, not because of everything
that it meant to our ancestors long ago, but because
what they discovered and chose to deliver to us, if
it could be kept and not lost, is something that
we need to continue to embrace and study and search
(10:22):
for all the meaning that we can find too. I've
often taught that the questions that our ancestors asked are
not unlike our own, but the answers will always be
somewhat different, even if they continue to have a thread
connected to the same source material that we share. For example,
in a religious and ritual way, we might ask how
(10:43):
do you observe the Sabbath? Well? A long time ago,
that answer was very different than the way we answer
it today. The tour itself didn't say anything about certain
prohibitions except the general nature and category of work, but
what work becomes throughout the generations changes all the time.
Work today is very different than work in the past.
(11:06):
I don't know how to use many skilled tools like
my ancestors once did, but they don't know anything about
typing and the internet and connecting by email with people,
and so work sometimes means that when the Sabbath comes,
we have to turn off our internet and our WiFi
and all of those other things. If we can even
bring ourselves to do it. It isn't always easy, but
(11:30):
the originality of the Torah doesn't mean that I should
lock up my donkey or my horse. I don't own them.
But it does mean that the reliability of the story
leads me to find a sacred relationship with God when
the Sabbath comes, or sacred relationship with my neighbor. When
we have ethical issues and relationships to grow and build
(11:53):
and sometimes work through day to day. Those are the
issues that endure and our so reliable that we code
back to the texts that have helped all of our
ancestors overcome their challenges, celebrate their high points, and then
receive from them what they felt was most important and
(12:16):
most reliable to transmit to the next generation. So it
becomes our responsibility to ask the same question, what of
our past and our present is so reliable and enduring
that we must transmit it to the next generation. I'm
Rabbi David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel in Houston. I think,
(12:37):
especially as this message is learned and shared, you should
find it again at my podcast called Heart to Heart
with Rabbi David Lyon at Sunny ninety nine dot Com
on the iHeartRadio app. As this new year continues to unfold,
let's ask ourselves the question, without even going too far
(12:59):
back in the past, what of the last year or
the last few years were so reliable by way of
lessons and learnings and teachings from our faith traditions or
not from our faith traditions that we wish should transmit
them into the future to those who will be part
of it. Those all become sacred to us. Why are
(13:21):
they sacred? Not because they're holy by definition, but because
we set them apart for very special role and purpose
in our life. And if it was so important to us,
then why shouldn't we imagine that it could be important
to somebody else as well? I hope that those sacred pieces,
those holy pieces, are not only something that we experience
(13:44):
in our present, contemporary time, but something from the past,
something from our faith traditions from ancient times, might be
just as reliable, if not original, as well. And those
the things that we should be mindful of collect share
in all the ways that we can. Is it a prayer,
a holiday, a ritual observance, a moral lesson, whatever it is,
(14:09):
give some thought to what has been so reliable for
you that you could not live without it, and therefore
perhaps maybe your children or grandchildren shouldn't live without it too.
And once more, the source book that I found this
in and am continuing to enjoy and learn from is
the book Living with the Gods by Neil McGregor, and
(14:31):
an exhibit currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
If you live nearby or can come and see it,
I hope that you do. But look around the city
where you live, the place where you are, look for
the art, the objects, the times, and the lessons that
make your life meaningful today and tomorrow. Thank you for
joining me, and I look forward to being with you
(14:52):
again next time.
Welcome. I'm Rabbie David Lyon from Congregation about Israel in Houston. Lately,
I've been enjoying not only an art exhibit at the
Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, but also the book
related to it called Living with the Gods by Neil MacGregor.
In it, he helps us to appreciate all manner of
(00:22):
religion and religious practice through history, through imagery, through archaeology, anthropology,
and more. And it's a vivid way of helping us
to see our own connection and relationship to religion in
our own life. In his book, in a section called
the Power of Images, he writes that religious attitude which
(00:46):
says that originality is not what you prize, but what
you look for and value is reliability for a way
of entering into the ongoing stream of a common life.
You know, our Western trained mind seeks evidence and originality,
and so when we seek evidence that something actually exists,
(01:11):
it works, and in a scientific experiment it can be repeated,
then we rely on it. We look for originality. Therefore,
for what is meaningful to us, even in a religious
and not scientific setting. Very often it's the thing that
we can date back to a particular time to say
(01:33):
that it is original, it is verifiable, and if it
can be, then we take it seriously, We make it
our very own, we venerate it, call it provenance. For
those of you who have watched Antique Road Show on PBS,
you know that sometimes we find that the item that
(01:55):
we bring is more valuable because of its provenance. Story
can take us all the way back to a point
of origin that helps us feel that it is carrying
more value, more power, more intrigue. That's the way we
generally find value in things that are important to us,
including our religious considerations and commitments. But what McGregor points out,
(02:22):
through history, we find that it isn't only originality that
is important to us when we consider our commitment to
faith ideas, but rather also reliability. Reliability is the source
of our faithful and Western sensibilities to accept something as sacred.
Something that's reliable has endured over centuries and centuries and
(02:46):
come down to us as a part of the inheritance
that we've acquired by way of spiritual, religious, cultural, and
other parts of who we are. Our ethnic identity is
wrapped up into what we consider not only original, but
even if it isn't original, can't be proven to be original,
(03:08):
it is nevertheless reliable. So as a rabbi, as a
teacher in Judaism, we call the Torah something that is
not only original but also reliable. But as a reform
rabbi who is trained in the scientific method as well,
we consider who wrote the Torah? How did it come
(03:30):
down to us? Was it actually revealed by God to
Moses on Mount Sinai and every single word in the
Torah is actually God's word? As a reform rabbi trained
in a more scientific manner, we would answer the question no,
but we would say that it was inspired by God
(03:51):
and written by man, and source criticism would lead us
to conclusions that reveal that there is a hand in
the Torah writing, that is the hand of the Redactor,
and the hand of the Redactor might sew up some
issues or close certain chapters in ways that are quite remarkable,
(04:12):
literary and extraordinary. So the Tora, even if it isn't
original from Sinai, as some Jews may claim, does not
make it any less reliable. And the reliability factor or
the reliability test, is vital to us in Judaism, in Christianity,
(04:33):
in Islam, and other faith traditions too, because the stories
in the Torah, whether they are true as written or
just stories that have come down to us, still contain
the most enduring lessons, the most reliable ideas about who
we are as a people and why we remain so
(04:55):
deeply committed to them, and the covenant that binds us
to our God. Let's take, for example, a troubled character
in the Torah. Let's take Abraham. Abraham, the first Jew,
who followed God's commandments to leave everything behind and to
go to a place that God would show him. We
(05:15):
find that in Genesis chapter twelve. But Abraham was tested
in chapter twenty two, in the portion we call the
ake Dah the binding of Isaac's story. My goodness, God
sent Abraham to Mount Moriah to bind his son Isaac
and to slaughter him. Near the end of the story,
he lifts up his eyes and there in the thicket
(05:36):
was a ram, caught by its horns, and instead of
his son, he sacrificed the ram. The story has been
a source of so much intrigue and questions over generations
and generations. What kind of test did Abraham endure? Did
he pass it? Did he fail it? Did God pass
it did God fail it? These stories are at the
(05:57):
heart of who we've become as a pieceeople, and how
we measure ourselves against such benchmarks and standards, and ask ourselves,
what is the test that we have endured? And if
Abraham endured the most remarkable tests, then certainly we can
pass all of ours. And many more conclusions have been reached.
(06:20):
But whether that story actually happened doesn't matter. It is
a story that is told in the Torah, has come
down to us through generations in the most enduring ways
and the most authentic manner, through commentaries and interpretations that
it continually maintained their tie and thread to an original
(06:42):
story that had been studied for centuries. So it becomes
ours because it's original in the form that we find it,
and extraordinarily reliable in the way that we have inherited it.
And it's a story that doesn't end with us, that
continues with us, reliability that need to interpret and learn
(07:02):
from it will continue in the generations to come. Let's
take a numble other character like Moses. Moses, of course
we know so well, not only because he was made
famous by Hollywood movies, but because of his extraordinary leadership
and what he represents not only for Jews, but many
others who have made their own exodus from place to place.
(07:23):
But Moses too is troubled. At the beginning, he slayed
an Egyptian taskmaster because he was cruel to the Israeliite slaves,
but also demonstrated great compassion to the flock that he
watered when they needed it, and led the people through
the wilderness journey, doing the best that he could and
(07:45):
sometimes even failing in the pressure of leadership that he endured.
Did everything happen exactly the way the tour records it,
We have no archaeological evidence to prove that it has.
But what does come down to us extraordinary lessons and
the meanings that we have drawn from it through authentic
(08:06):
study and interpretation. To so originality. We might claim that
it is an old story that takes us all the
way back to the beginning of our people and it's
covenant with God. But let's original is our concern, and
more reliable is our celebration that this reliable story is
told around our Passover story every table every year and
(08:30):
continues the bindness as a people, as a religious community
and in covenant with God. That kind of reliability is
a test that we can use in every faith, tradition,
and every step of our own spirituality. So we would
ask you what is your faith? What is sacred to you?
(08:51):
And why is it a book? Is it a teaching
an icon? Is it a story, a value or an idea?
As a character like Abraham and Moses, who I call
troubled at first, how did visit that they became exalted
characters as well? Abraham, Moses, even Miriam quite exalted for
(09:13):
all that they overcame their human tendencies, their human lives
that we can identify with make them very real to us.
We want to know more about them because as a result,
we learn more about ourselves. They do represent ideals in
many ways, but also very human qualities that we can
(09:36):
emulate or strive to emulate in some small way perhaps.
But it is their reliable nature, found in a reliable
text and found in a reliable process that has delivered
all of this to us in our own time. We
sometimes also use the word relevant. I use that word
(09:58):
to mean that we have drawn with us from the
past remains meaningful to us today, not because of everything
that it meant to our ancestors long ago, but because
what they discovered and chose to deliver to us, if
it could be kept and not lost, is something that
we need to continue to embrace and study and search
(10:22):
for all the meaning that we can find too. I've
often taught that the questions that our ancestors asked are
not unlike our own, but the answers will always be
somewhat different, even if they continue to have a thread
connected to the same source material that we share. For example,
in a religious and ritual way, we might ask how
(10:43):
do you observe the Sabbath? Well? A long time ago,
that answer was very different than the way we answer
it today. The tour itself didn't say anything about certain
prohibitions except the general nature and category of work, but
what work becomes throughout the generations changes all the time.
Work today is very different than work in the past.
(11:06):
I don't know how to use many skilled tools like
my ancestors once did, but they don't know anything about
typing and the internet and connecting by email with people,
and so work sometimes means that when the Sabbath comes,
we have to turn off our internet and our WiFi
and all of those other things. If we can even
bring ourselves to do it. It isn't always easy, but
(11:30):
the originality of the Torah doesn't mean that I should
lock up my donkey or my horse. I don't own them.
But it does mean that the reliability of the story
leads me to find a sacred relationship with God when
the Sabbath comes, or sacred relationship with my neighbor. When
we have ethical issues and relationships to grow and build
(11:53):
and sometimes work through day to day. Those are the
issues that endure and our so reliable that we code
back to the texts that have helped all of our
ancestors overcome their challenges, celebrate their high points, and then
receive from them what they felt was most important and
(12:16):
most reliable to transmit to the next generation. So it
becomes our responsibility to ask the same question, what of
our past and our present is so reliable and enduring
that we must transmit it to the next generation. I'm
Rabbi David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel in Houston. I think,
(12:37):
especially as this message is learned and shared, you should
find it again at my podcast called Heart to Heart
with Rabbi David Lyon at Sunny ninety nine dot Com
on the iHeartRadio app. As this new year continues to unfold,
let's ask ourselves the question, without even going too far
(12:59):
back in the past, what of the last year or
the last few years were so reliable by way of
lessons and learnings and teachings from our faith traditions or
not from our faith traditions that we wish should transmit
them into the future to those who will be part
of it. Those all become sacred to us. Why are
(13:21):
they sacred? Not because they're holy by definition, but because
we set them apart for very special role and purpose
in our life. And if it was so important to us,
then why shouldn't we imagine that it could be important
to somebody else as well? I hope that those sacred pieces,
those holy pieces, are not only something that we experience
(13:44):
in our present, contemporary time, but something from the past,
something from our faith traditions from ancient times, might be
just as reliable, if not original, as well. And those
the things that we should be mindful of collect share
in all the ways that we can. Is it a prayer,
a holiday, a ritual observance, a moral lesson, whatever it is,
(14:09):
give some thought to what has been so reliable for
you that you could not live without it, and therefore
perhaps maybe your children or grandchildren shouldn't live without it too.
And once more, the source book that I found this
in and am continuing to enjoy and learn from is
the book Living with the Gods by Neil McGregor, and
(14:31):
an exhibit currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
If you live nearby or can come and see it,
I hope that you do. But look around the city
where you live, the place where you are, look for
the art, the objects, the times, and the lessons that
make your life meaningful today and tomorrow. Thank you for
joining me, and I look forward to being with you
(14:52):
again next time.
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