The Foundation Stone
Newsletter               August 13, 2009 - 25 Av, 5759
  
 


wave_hill


  The Challenge of Wave Hill
I love to spend my Shabbat mornings in Wave Hill. The flowers, trees, views and setting provide a perfect place to digest my Friday night learning, davening insights, and all the special moments of the Shabbat meal. I always take my guests to see the thousands of flowers, hundreds of perfectly coiffed trees, the pond, the trellises, and the magnificent views of the Hudson and the Palisades.

The problem is that I enjoy seeing and showing the overwhelming miracles of God's creation, which leads me to excitedly pull my guests from one flower to the next and from one area to another. I also enjoy spending time with each strange flower, weird cactus, and mysterious tree. One part of me wants to run through all of Wave Hill, rejoicing in the infinite creativity while another part of me wants to spend time observing and thrilling in each magnificent detail.

It is similar to the inner battle between the part of me that loves to review the Talmud a few times each year, while another part is intrigued by the details and wants to spend my time delving into the deep secrets and messages of each line. I can spend an entire Shabbat on one verse and the next Shabbat reading through tens of books on the entire portion. I call this the Wave Hill Challenge.

God formed the world from one point: the Foundation Stone, and from there it spread into all of creation culminating in the Garden in Eden. The Foundation Stone was the focal point. It demanded depth. The Garden was the full expression of the creativity of the world. In fact, the Garden in Eden was the expressed potential of The Foundation Stone. It called for breadth.

I formed The Foundation Stone one year ago with the dream of offering both approaches to Torah. We have posted over 1500 articles and podcasts since Thanksgiving weekend, when we began the website, just over 8 months ago. We also offer opportunities to explore important issues in great depth. The best part is you who have responded with great passion, seriousness, and integrity with so many comments, questions and criticisms.

With this in mind,  now that we are grounded in The Foundation Stone, I can invite you to delve into, and take a tour of, the Garden.

Thank you. Please keep your comments and suggestions coming. They matter to both parts of my heart as they explore and ponder the breadth and the depth of Torah.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg
President          
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