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Vicki Crawford
2/7/2013 02:28:33 am
I had to read on and research this week's Torah portion. I came across something that stopped me in my tracks - "Perhaps the most profound Jewish statement about the relationship between human beings and the earth is bound up in two words of Hebrew - two words that do not even need a sentence to connect them - Adam & Adamah. The first means "human being"; the second, "earth." The two words intertwine to teach us that that the human and the earth are intertwined. In Hebrew no one is able to say the name of the earth or of humanity without hearing an echo of the other."
kristi h
2/7/2013 02:49:39 am
What a great read! 2/9/2013 09:03:44 pm
Adam & Adamah are from the Hebrew root A.D.M. the tie between them is obvious and wonderful. Yes, in Judaism the "Soul Print" of humanity and our precious earth are intertwined in eternity. Genesis 2:15 explains that we, humans, were placed in this garden to “Le’ovda Ule’shamera” to till it and tend to it, keep it in safety and security. We could ask, God could have created a “maintenance-free” world, why did He decide that humans would be the “graders” that would keep it safe? Our commentators explained that we have to take responsibility for the world we live in because we tend to value something more when we have invested our own labor in it. May we all learn and yearn to do it. Amen.
Vicki Crawford
2/11/2013 05:35:17 am
You posed such an interesting question and your answer really has me thinking. Thank you for explaining this further to me! Leave a Reply. |
About Rabbi MiriamRabbi Miriam E. Hamrell MHL, M.Ed., has served as our religious and spiritual leader at Ahavat Torah Congregation and helped it grow since it was founded in 2003. Archives
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