“From out Zion will come Torah” (and latte)
The parashah this Shabbat - Va’etchanan (Deut. 3:23ff) - is a heavy hitter. It includes the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5) and the first paragraph of Shema (Deut. 6:4-9). Sages have offered interpretations of the Shema for millenia - see my posting below for one example (Talmud from Jerusalem: Morning and Night). Throughout this trip I have been trying to “Shema Yisrael” - Hear the meaning of Israel today. I think I heard a piece this Shabbat.
Last night, Rabbi Levi Kelman connected the Shema to the Land of Israel by pointing to its context in the Torah. Immediately before Shema, the Torah reminds us that God promised our ancestors, ”Eretz Zavat Halav u’Dvash - A Land flowing with Milk and Honey!” Anybody who ever attended a camp or youth group with even slight Zionist influences probably knows to sing those words with a few “ooh-aahs” interspersed.
So, if in our worship we recited the Shema according to its original context, we would not say: “Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L’Olam Va-ed (Blessed is God’s glorious kingdom forever and ever).” The Talmudic sages added those words a long time ago to emphasize God’s sovereignty for our liturgical purposes but the words do not appear in the Torah here. Instead, we would say something like this:
“Israel is a land flowing with milk and honey as promised to our ancestors. SHEMA! Listen, Israel, Adonai is our God Adonai alone. And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart…”
I must admit that my ears are full of the sounds of this city - some of which keep me up at night - but I have not yet seen the milk and honey flowing in the streets. However, Ha’aretz newspaper reported that in Israel there are eight times more cafes per capita than you find in Manhattan (read the article). This, according to Ha’aretz, is but one sign of the “embarassment of riches” currently in Israel (parts of it at least). They sure do love their coffee, latte, espresso and tea. In fact, some of the only establishments open in Jerusalem on Shabbat are the cafes popular with secular Israelis.
So maybe the Talmud knew a thing or two about the world. There is the goodness of God’s sovereignty and then there is the goodness of a nice espresso in the right setting. It seems when you emphasize abundance (milk and honey) over the sovereignty of God, you inevitably get the modern trappings of milk and honey: espresso and latte even on the Shabbos. Proof? On the way to visit a former student, a cabbie pointed out all the building activity to me, lingering over the biggest building project in the area: the Mamilla Shopping Mall. Situated just outside the Jaffa Gate to the Old City, this mall is beautifully crafted of Jerusalem stone and blends well with the surroundings. But there, on the outdoor ledge closest to the Jaffa Gate, you see the characteristic red umbrellas? Yes, there just up from the trees… It’s Aroma Cafe, Israel’s answer to Starbucks. I remember when the first Aroma Cafe opened in Jerusalem’s German Colony ten years ago during my year at HUC. Ultra-Orthodox Jews attacked it (and its patrons) one Saturday because they were violating Shabbat. Times have changed. The Land flows with milk and honey - right up to the ancient gates. And, ahhhh. Shema - Listen, Israel! You can almost hear the hiss of the espresso machine and satisfied sipping of Jewish souls.
Pull over. Maybe it’s open on Shabbat.
