Kol Tzedek
  • Spiritual Life
    • Hanukkah
    • Shabbat Links
    • Spiritual Care
    • Yahrzeits
    • Life Cycles
    • KT's Simcha Band
    • New Siddur!
  • About
    • Purpose, Vision, & Priorities
    • Calendar
    • Staff
    • Community Resources
    • Black Lives Matter
    • Israel-Palestine
    • Budget
    • Event Requests
    • COVID Community Guidelines
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Access at KT
    • Contact Us
  • Membership
    • Become a Member
    • KT Community Brit
    • Member Login
    • Update Your Sustaining Share
  • Learning
    • Members' Teachings
    • Torah School
    • Adult Learning
    • Rabbi's Blog
    • Rabbis' Sermons
    • The KT Library
    • Sha"tz Training Program
  • Ways to Give
    • Donate
    • Sponsor KT's New Sanctuary!
    • Sponsor an Oneg
    • Sponsor Captioning
    • Dedicate a Prayerbook
    • Friends of KT

Rabbi's Blog

There are 48 ways to acquire Torah

5/26/2017

 
The journey to Shavuot really begins at Passover. There is a custom of counting this 49 day period known as the Omer, from the second night of Passover to the first night of Shavuot. Several commentators link the 49 days of the Omer to the 48 qualities identified in Pirke Avot 6:6 as the attributes a person needs to cultivate in order to acquire Torah. In this practice, each day is dedicated to a different character trait.
 
The list includes some more intuitive qualities like humility, tranquility, and joy. And some less so, like minimizing pleasure and speech. But what has captured my attention today is the phrase "acquire Torah." Or in the Hebrew "Kinyan Torah - קנין תורה." Kinyan is the same Hebrew root used to describe the act of entering into a partnership. Kinyan is a deeply relational word. It is not something we can do with ourselves alone. The 48 qualities in Pirkei Avot are also deeply relational (learning in order to teach, giving the benefit of the doubt, companionship, asking and answering, etc.). 

The Vilna Gaon adds an important observation. No one person can embody all 48 attributes. It is simply not possible; each of us has different strengths, different human qualities, different capacities of heart, mind, and spirit. According to Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, "That is why we learn in hevruta, with study companions. We need each other to reveal Torah in all its fullness, beauty, and complexity. It is through each other that we may merit revelation and truly acquire Torah."

I hope to see many of you at the Center City Kehillah Tikkun on Tuesday Night starting at 7 pm, where I, along with KT members Rabbi Alissa Wise, Hillary Blecker & Jessica Levy, Zoe Cohen and Jules Burnstein will be teaching.
​

Ramadan Mubarak and Shabbat Shalom!

Comments are closed.

    Rabbi's Blog
    ​

    You can search Rabbi Ari Lev's blog below:

    Author

    Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari brings Torat Hayyim, a living tradition, to Kol Tzedek through thoughts about prayer, justice, and community. 

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Office & Mailing Address: 5300 Whitby Ave, Commercial #2, Philadelphia, PA 19143 
 General Questions: (267) 702-6187 or [email protected]
Shabbat Services: 5300 Whitby Ave, Commercial #1, Philadelphia, PA 19143 
  • Spiritual Life
    • Hanukkah
    • Shabbat Links
    • Spiritual Care
    • Yahrzeits
    • Life Cycles
    • KT's Simcha Band
    • New Siddur!
  • About
    • Purpose, Vision, & Priorities
    • Calendar
    • Staff
    • Community Resources
    • Black Lives Matter
    • Israel-Palestine
    • Budget
    • Event Requests
    • COVID Community Guidelines
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Access at KT
    • Contact Us
  • Membership
    • Become a Member
    • KT Community Brit
    • Member Login
    • Update Your Sustaining Share
  • Learning
    • Members' Teachings
    • Torah School
    • Adult Learning
    • Rabbi's Blog
    • Rabbis' Sermons
    • The KT Library
    • Sha"tz Training Program
  • Ways to Give
    • Donate
    • Sponsor KT's New Sanctuary!
    • Sponsor an Oneg
    • Sponsor Captioning
    • Dedicate a Prayerbook
    • Friends of KT