How to Find Meaning in Morally Challenging Sacred Texts

Saturday morning Torah study never fails to elicit lively conversations.  Our biblical and rabbinic sources, especially the unsavory ones, challenge us.  Topics such as capital punishment, slavery, the role of women, war, zealotry, and even the sudden deaths of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, about which we read this week, leave us with even more questions: What do we do with these?  Can we still find meaning in texts that seem to defy our moral sensibilities? 

We are not, of course, the first generation to struggle with this, and there is much to learn about how rabbinic commentators handled these challenging texts.  This Sunday, I will delve into this topic at our Ryterband Brunch.  We will explore how sages over the centuries have debated, deconstructed, and reimagined these difficult passages, making them more palatable.  We’ll find that even seemingly unambiguous texts can be overturned, subject to debate and reinterpretation.  We don’t take texts like “an eye for an eye” literally.  Nor do we practice the stoning of a rebellious son.  Rather, the rabbis understood these laws as theoretical law, never intended to be implemented.  

We must grapple with our sacred texts and rabbinic voices, even when we disagree with them or find them distasteful. Looking at how others have handled their own ambivalence will guide us in forging our own connections. I hope you will join me this Sunday as we explore this vital topic together and see how even difficult texts can become a catalyst for holiness.