Spiritual Poetry Makes the Good Book Great
For many readers, the Torah is more than the good book. It is a great book. The Torah鈥檚 greatness can be attributed to its literary uniqueness (there really is no other book quite like it) and to its remarkable place at the foundation of three major religions.
For me, the Torah鈥檚 greatness comes from the way it integrates artistry and meaning. The Torah is playfully serious. It manipulates language, selectively includes and excludes essential narrative details, and is overtly intertextual. Above all, the Torah is crafted to express and to suggest. Its laws, stories, prophetic oracles, wise sayings, prayers, and songs all function in a way as a kind of poetry鈥攁 spiritual poetry鈥攖hat captures the religious imagination, expressing and suggesting profound meanings.
Like all good poetry, the Torah brings in each individual reader and connects us to its stories and truths. Like all good spiritual poetry, the Torah communicates something essential about human experience, capturing our vulnerabilities and our aspirations that extend beyond the specificities of ourselves. The Torah鈥檚 spiritual poetry is expansive. It blends the universal with the particular; communicates what is eternal in each moment; and speaks to us as humans and as Jews.
One of the ways the Torah does this is by telling stories that collapse time, causing the past, present, and future to intersect. There are core moments in individual characters鈥� lives that are linked intentionally to Israel鈥檚 larger story, and even to the grand human narrative. These moments simultaneously look backwards and forwards to connect characters with their ancestors and with their descendants, including each one of us.
Parashat Shemot offers several examples. The parashah opens with the names of Jacob鈥檚 sons, records the death of Joseph and the passing of his generation, and introduces the next generation of Israel that, being extraordinarily fertile [驻专讜 讜讬砖专爪讜 讜讬专讘讜], fills the earth [讜转诪诇讗 讛讗专抓] (Exod. 1:7). The words used to describe Israel鈥檚 fertility echo the story of creation in Genesis 1 and God鈥檚 command to the first humans to be fertile, increase, and fill the earth [驻专讜 讜专讘讜 讜诪诇讗讜] (Gen. 1:28).
With this echo, the Torah poetically links Israel鈥檚 story to the world鈥檚 story and suggests that Israel experiences a new or renewed creation. Depending on one鈥檚 perspective, it is a moment of cosmic continuity or discontinuity. Either way, Israel鈥檚 story intersects with the world鈥檚 story and the creation of humanity.
Next, the parashah records the birth of Moses, whose life is in danger in the wake of Pharaoh鈥檚 decree to throw Israel鈥檚 baby boys into the Nile. In another nod to the creation story in Genesis 1, Moses鈥檚 mother perceives her son鈥檚 goodness [讜转专讗 讗转讜 讻讬 讟讜讘] and places him in a tevah, a container [转讘讛], setting him afloat in the Nile river. (Exod. 2:2-3)
The only other place in the Torah that the word 转讘讛 (tevah) appears refers to Noah鈥檚 ark. In this way, the Torah poetically links two moments of salvation, while also hinting at a future salvation. Moses is Noah. His experience of floating down the river in a 转讘讛 connects him to this ancestor. Moses also is Israel. His personal experience of salvation鈥攐f being drawn from the water鈥攃onnects him with the people he will lead through the water to their salvation.
The centerpiece of the parashah is Moses鈥檚 call to prophecy at the burning bush. This is another poetically charged moment in which the present and the future, the personal and the communal, intersect. Exodus 3:1 describes Moses shepherding his father-in-law鈥檚 sheep deep into the wilderness to Horeb, God鈥檚 mountain.
This one verse encapsulates the entire story of Exodus in which Moses shepherds Israel through the wilderness to God鈥檚 mountain. Once again, Moses鈥檚 personal story reflects Israel鈥檚 story. Similarly, Moses encounters God at the burning bush [住谞讛], an overt wordplay on Sinai [住讬谞讬], the site of Israel鈥檚 communal revelation. In this way, Moses鈥檚 intimate moment of private revelation foreshadows Israel鈥檚 grand moment of communal revelation.
Moments of creation, salvation, and revelation punctuate Moses鈥檚 story, Israel鈥檚 story, and the human story. They also punctuate the story of my own life and are key to why the Torah鈥檚 spiritual poetry speaks to me and why I think it makes the good book a great book.
The Torah鈥檚 spiritual poetry makes specific moments feel timeless and transforms personal stories into communal ones. By doing so, it also enables ancient stories to feel alive for contemporary readers like me. Its expansiveness welcomes me into the Torah鈥檚 world and helps me extend my personal narrative beyond my present, connecting me to the ancient past and the distant future. The Torah鈥檚 spiritual poetry enables Moses鈥檚 story to become Israel鈥檚 story and Israel鈥檚 story to become my own.
The publication and distribution of the 91快播 Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (锄鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (锄鈥漧).
