Sod: The Secrets of the Torah
To read between the lines is something we do almost intuitively. Years of growing up in a certain culture or a certain household teach us that sometimes the crux of a message is the unspoken one. So too with the messages within Torah. Our tradition teaches that a second Torah exists in white letters inscribed on the white spaces between the black letters. This invisible Torah is thought to be concealed by ordinary language and ordinary consciousness. It is the practice of Jewish mystics to access these ultimate truths. It is their goal to reveal these well-kept secrets about the Divine and about our own souls that are more profound and perhaps more challenging than most people have time or interest in beholding. But this is what we will attempt to discover in a monthly class beginning on Shabbat afternoon of January 7th, at 4 pm followed by Havdalah at 5 pm. In this monthly class titled Sod, meaning “secret” and the term used to describe the deepest level of Torah interpretation, we shall study the Torah portion of the week with the intention of revealing the meaning that resides in the white spaces between the words. The approach we will take will include brief teachings on and from the mystical traditions of Kabbalah, Kabbalistic healing, and Hasidut that can help guide our discussion for that hour. Sod classes are currently scheduled for
January 7th, 4-5 pm
February 25th, 4-5 pm
March 31st, 4-5 pm
April 28th, 4:30-5:30
May 5th, 4:30-5:30
June 9th, 4:30-5:30
Havdalah to follow each class session.
All are welcome. No prior experience with Torah study or Jewish mysticism is required. But do bring a desire to go beyond the literal and even the historical in order to perhaps glimpse a vision of a spiritual cosmos manifesting in our very lives, even though we may not always be fully conscious of its meaning or its presence.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Amy J. Sapowith
