Rabbi Liberman – The Power and Importance of Stories
As a child, I loved hearing stories. Whether read from a book or told from memory, stories were a wonderful part of my childhood. They are some of the most enduring lessons that continue to be part of my life today. One such story, learned as a very young child, was called‘Going on a Lion Hunt.’ This particular story was a gift from my mother. I am not certain she would consider herself a ‘story teller’ per se, but in my heart, this was a remarkable sharing of adventure and intrigue that I not only recall from the first time I heard it, but have since, shared it myself with other listeners. There is just something wonderfully powerful about the experience of hearing and telling stories.
Stories continue to be an important part of not only my own life, but of all peoples, cultures and religions. As a teenager I was introduced to the ancient tradition of storytelling among Native American tribes, in particular those of the American Southwest. One such story tradition was that of the Pueblo people of New Mexico. It is from their tradition that the Storyteller Doll, a clay figure made by the Pueblo people, added to my appreciation of the power of the transmission of heritage and tradition through story.
The rich culture of story and storytelling, however, is also very much about Judaism and our Jewish traditions and teachings. As is found in Midrash, “God created people because God loves stories.” Master teacher Joel Grishaver writes, “Stories are more than dramas people tell or read. Story, as a pattern, is a powerful way of organizing and sharing individual experience and exploring and co-creating shared realities…Story reality is the reality that we see when we recognize that every person, every being, every thing has a story and contains stories and, in fact, is a story—and that all of these stories interconnect, that we are, in fact, surrounded by stories, embedded in
stories and made of stories.”
“L’hagid –The Power of Our Stories” is a special curriculum that is part of our Shabbat Enrichment program, but is also a stream of learning for the entire congregation throughout this year. I invite you to read a weekly Jewish short story gem in the service sheet, find more Jewish stories at Congregational Learning, and read the weekly children’s stories in the Shabbat Enrichment e-mail (accessible through links in our shul e-mail).
Also watch for special events and programs throughout the year that include learning from stories such as with our Artist in Residence, Susan Armington on January 15, 2011.
And now a very special invitation!! Do you have a favorite Jewish story? We would love to share these with our congregational community. Please send a copy of your story to me at learn AT beth-jacob DOT org or send a photocopy of your favorite story to shul along with a 2-3 line statement of why this is a beloved story to you! As much as stories illuminate each of us as individuals, it is our hope to further deepen our understandings of each other through the stories we treasure and wish to share.
To that end, here is one of my favorite tales as told by Martin Buber in Tales of the Hasidim:
“The Holy Maggid of Mezritch was an important, world class Hasidic teacher. He took over from the son of the Baal Shem Tov and became the Rebbe of all Hasidic Jews. But before he was discovered and became a great rebbe, he earned his living as an ordinary Hebrew school teacher in a heder. Later, after he became famous, people became interested in his past. They went to his Hebrew school students and asked them, “What kind of teacher was he?” One student answered: “He pushed us and pulled us. He asked us questions and he listened to us. He waited until each one of us told him our own story of what it was like to go out of Egypt and cross the Reed Sea. And he waited until each one of us told him our own story of what it was like to stand at Mt. Sinai and accept the Torah.”
I look forward to sharing more stories and to reading your stories as a way of continuing our Jewish learning together as a community.
Hag Urim Sameach – also wishing you and your families a wonderful Hanukah celebration.
L’Shalom,
Rabbi Lynn Liberman
Director of Congregational Learning