Metaphor - Power of the Image

Review of last Classes:

Yes we are still on Chapter 32 in Deuteronomy – but it seems like ages since the last time I summarized my notes!

Last week we heard some amazing things from the bimah that made up for the week off from our class.

On 9/8 we focused on the poetry and the technique of parallelism that is used in this ancient poem.
There was reference to a book by Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry http://www.amazon.com/Art-Biblical-Poetry-Robert-Alter/dp/0465004318
One quote I noted from the session: “Once you study Torah it becomes incorporated into your life.”

We reflected on the metaphor of Torah to rain and water as life giving.

AND we discussed the ‘call and response’ format in our prayers as it relates to this portion and within our current liturgy. This mechanism will facilitate internal contemplation in a way that other formats do not.

Techniques to make our observation more participatory include this call and response and the ‘power of song’ and all of this is incorporated into our practice and enhances our tradition.

On 9/15 we continued the discussion on the POEM in Chapter 32 with a focus on a different metaphor. “THE ROCK” which is noted many times in many different ways throughout the Bible. Samson Raphael Hirsch used this metaphor to illustrate the everlasting support of Israel. The land will always be there and will not vanish. This is the guarantor of existence forever.

Again we referred to the tradition of standing when we say “Tzur Yisrael” in the prayer just before the Amidah – Tzur is a special word for rock – very old archaic form of the word – it implies a special, older and more significant way of saying “Rock of Israel”.

A powerful quote on rocks, "The great rocks of Yosemite, expressing qualities of timeless, yet intimate grandeur, are the most compelling formations of their kind. We should not casually pass them by for they are the very heart of the earth speaking to us." Ansel Adams, Photographer. (see photo above)


We started to move on to a discussion of a “Just and Righteous God” which was a good place to end before the observation Yom Kippur.