D’var Torah and Reflection written by Lindsay Gorby
D’var Torah:
At some point in their life, every human being questions the origin of their existence, whether it be the existence of the human race as a whole, or the existence of his or her self. This week’s Parsha is Bereshit, the first passage written in the Torah. In the beginning of Genesis, as G-d is creating heaven and earth, water and land, the same phrase is repeatedly broached, “And G-d saw that it was good.”
What does this mean in our personal lives, exactly? It means that you are a piece of creation, and therefore have a piece of G-d in you, a piece of good. G-d created us in his image and ensured that we all started out with our own personal piece of good. On the seventh day of creation G-d rested, letting his creations prosper on their own without his guidance. What we as humans do with this piece of good and freedom, however, is entirely out of our own volition.
As humans got free will to choose their own actions, less and less people were using this newfound freedom responsibly. Rather than acting as images of G-d, they became selfish and unfaithful, and this made G-d unhappy. As a result of the humans’ irresponsibility, G-d decided that the entire population would be destroyed by a flood. However, this changed when G-d saw a light within us through Noah and his family.
The futures of himself and the Jewish people, were extricated entirely by Noah’s strong core values. Because of the strong set of values exemplified by him, after what precedent do we evaluate our own individual set of values?
What makes one’s core values of more worth, more commendable, than another’s? Do we strive to make positive impacts throughout our daily life in order to develop these values? Do we only attempt to influence the situations when we suspect we will regret not having done when our Arc of opportunity is closed?
And so, we ask ourselves, are we lacking guidance?
The moment a parent no longer leans over their child to make sure they’re doing homework, the times when the teacher leaves the classroom, what do we do? Do we live up to our own expectations of greatness, of G-d’s goodness, or do we disappoint these expectations? Because in the end, the times in which we are not being examined, are the times in which we are truly tested. We were meant to live in order to sustain ourselves, but the moment we strayed from our potential, began the downfall of our people. It is our values that empower us. The constant voice inside our head driving us with the idea that, “no, you can be better.”
Regardless of what our individual inner values be, they are all guided by a voice, a spirit, which is deep inside of us. We inquire, where did this everlasting ambition come from? And Bereshit teaches us that this will to achieve is derived from that personal piece of good which G-d has instilled in each and every one of us.
As leaders of Diller Cohort 4, we will utilize this good, and may we use it to benefit both ourselves and our communities.
Workshop Reflection:
I have never seen a group of people bond faster than the members of Cohort 4. This workshop began in full swing, with everyone enthusiastic about the day and excited to see each other again. This month, we explored the topic of our individual values. We analyzed different texts and discussed a scenario where we must choose a leader, with biographies about our anonymous prospects who were actually influential Jewish leaders in biblical times. Through this activity, we discovered what leadership qualities we look for in both ourselves and in others. After taking a brief playground break and a much appreciated sandwich bar recess, we learned about the current happenings of Gilad Shalit and how his life is affected today. We wrapped up the workshop with the history of the hamsa and decorated our own, labeling sections of them with our core values and actions we take exemplifying those values. It was such an informative and fun workshop and we're all so excited to see what's next in store for Diller Cohort 4!