Torah Commentary

If I asked you to imagine yourself as a character in the Torah, who would you want to be? I like to ask this question when I teach midrash—creative interpretation of the biblical narrative—so that students can try on different personas and begin to see themselves in our sacred story.

This week's Torah portion and the book it comes from are called B'midbar, or, in the wilderness. The title comes from the first meaningful word in the text, in contrast to a title that is a summation of the text's core ideas. In the case of B'midbar, both ring true, for the Israelites in the Torah as well as for people today.

We crave reason and predictability, but certainty is often elusive. Instead, we must embrace the unknowable. Fortunately, an approach to faith in which God is not beyond the world but immanent in it, helps us to recognize that rationality and spirituality are not only compatible but dependent on one another.