Bringing Torah to Your Table

By Mark Greenspan, Oceanside Jewish Center, Oceanside, NY

Greenspan

This past year I undertook an ambitious project for my congregation: a weekly study sheet based on connecting parashat ha-shavua with The Observant Life. In addition to emailing this study sheet to about 500 people each week and putting it out in synagogue on Shabbat mornings, Torah Table Talk was the subject of our adult education program as well as other classes during the year.

The Process

As I began reading and reviewing the varied topics in this book last summer I wondered how we could inspire members to read it during the coming year and sketched an outline connecting something in each parashah with the subject of a chapter in the book. The study sheet followed a pattern: a brief introduction to the topic in The Observant Life; a verse or a passage from the week’s parashah that related to this chapter; “Sources and Resources” containing rabbinic, medieval and modern texts wrestling with the Torah passage; and “Reflections” in which I analyzed the sources and issues. Wherever possible I also tried to draw on the responsa literature of the Conservative Movement. Torah Table Talk ended with questions for discussion and quotes address the main issues in the chapter. [note: The Observant Life & Parashat Ha-shavua: A Study Guide is available here]

Last Rosh Hashanah I devoted one of my sermons to the importance of talmud Torah as a way of engaging people in Jewish life. I laid out a project for the whole year -- to read a chapter from The Observant Life each week -- and everyone received a bookmark noting the weekly parashah and chapter. Members were encouraged to purchase copies of the book through the synagogue office. 

About Torah Table Talk

I began publishing Torah Table Talk seven years ago after my congregation went through a review of its religious school program with Experiments for Congregation Education (ECE). One of the values that we identified was bringing Torah home rather than leaving it in the synagogue and the classroom. I began writing and publishing a weekly study sheet on the parashah that tied the Torah portion together with other literature in Jewish life, each year with a different focus of study: Midrash, the haftarah, Pirkei Avot, mitzvot, Hebrew language. The basic format of the program remained the same: an introduction, a passage from the parashah, classical and modern sources, reflections, and questions. 

When we started this program last fall, we did not anticipate a hurricane. While Hurricane Sandy affected all of our programming for months, through it all I kept sending out my weekly Torah Table Talk. Some people attended classes and many others used the source material to study at home. I continue to receive notes and letters from the many out of town rabbis and laypeople who appreciate the material and context for reading The Observant Life.

My congregation has appreciated having donors dedicate each week’s publication for $54. While it’s not a lot of money it makes a statement that the members of Oceanside Jewish Center value Torah study and appreciate what I have been doing.

Engaging in Talmud Torah

My primary reason for writing Torah Table Talk is the opportunity it gives me to study new materials and devote a portion of the week to talmud Torah. Finally, this project has allowed me to explore The Observant Life more deeply.

It is easy to get so caught up with our congregational work that we forget who we are and why we do this important work. We are b’nei Torah, first and foremost students of Torah. And as we read each morning, Torah shel hesed (Torah of kindness) is the Torah we learn for its own sake and teach our students in the course of daily life. We are fortunate as rabbis that we can devote a portion of our time to doing the things that we love the most.


 

Mark Greenspan has been the spiritual leader of the Oceanside Jewish Center for over fifteen years and is chaplain of the Oceanside Fire Department. He was born in New York and raised in Florida; Rabbi Mark is a product of the Camp RamahUSY, and Beth Torah Congregation in North Miami Beach. He is a graduate of the Joint Program of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University and was ordained at the Seminary in 1980.

Greenspan has been a congregational rabbi for over thirty years, serving synagogues in New York, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. He is an active member of the Oceanside Interfaith Council, and is considered “unofficial rabbi” of the Friedberg JCC. Following the events of 9/11, Greenspan joined the local fire department as a structural volunteer firefighter and chaplain. He has served as president of the Rabbinical Assembly of Nassau and Suffolk Counties and is active in interfaith affairs in the community.

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