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Dear Emery/Weiner Community,
At my niece's Bat Mitzvah this past weekend in Tulsa, the honor of placing the Torah back in the ark was giving to one of my four brothers who is, well, not religious. 
In fact, this brother had specifically asked for any honor other than that one. Apparently, there was some clerical confusion. (Bad pun, sorry.)
Anyway, after he came down from the bimah (and after we recovered from laughing), my brother confessed that it was actually quite powerful to carry the decorated scrolls through the adoring congregation -- to experience first-hand how an ancient writing could still command so much attention and influence. And regardless of your personal view on its origin, it's an interesting observation to consider tonight -- Erev Shavuot, the holiday that commemorates receiving the Torah.
In short, which texts in our lives have lasting value? Now don't get me wrong, I text too -- heck, if I didn't, I could never reach any of our teenage babysitters! But in this age of information overload, where this morning's blog is overshadowed by the afternoon's Facebook post, which is nothing compared to the Tweet I just saw, it's worth asking: Will I care about this tomorrow?
In the case of Torah, it's been central to the Jewish People for over 3000 years. 
We may not agree with or even believe everything in it, but the Book still resonates because it prompts us to consider what matters most in our lives. In fact, tonight's holiday tradition is to stay up until dawn studying it! As for most of the other texts in our lives, I'm not so sure. For interesting perspectives on how they undermine the quality of our work and actually endanger us, I commend the articles here and here.
Have a meaningful holiday no matter how you spend it -- even if it's just discussing the above referenced essays with your kids over dinner. :)
Stuart J. Dow
Head of School
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