Dear Friends,
Repeating ourselves? Saying the same thing over again?
For some, it is an effective way of confirming that the message is delivered. For others, it is rambling. Sor some, it is effective pedagogy; for others it is annoyance.
Interestingly, the question arises in commentaries to this week’s Torah portion. We are near the end of our 40-year trek, and commencing the Book of Deuteronomy, which by its very name (Greek, deutero: second; and, nomos: law, hence, second law, or repeated law) indicates a repetition of the laws which were received earlier in the Torah. That is exactly what transpires; Moses proceeds to recount the story of our 40 years, and to reassert the laws which have been given to the Jewish people.
Hence, the commentaries. They ask, is this repetition a function of Moses’ desire to deeply instill the laws in our hearts and minds, so they are more likely to be followed? Or, does this demonstrate that Moses was aging and prone to repeating himself? Or, is this a different message, altogether, one of reproach in which Moses takes his last shots at the people before he strides off into the wilderness to die at the hand of God?
There is no correct answer. It clearly depends on our own points of view. Yet, it is a worthy question. What is the effect of repetition?
Elsewhere, a commentary teaches that words which are repeated are for emphasis. When a worried mother repeatedly calls out for her child, there is urgency. Similarly, when a politician repeats her or his stump phrase, it is to seal the communication. The messages are emphatic.
Yet, there are times when one says, “Alright, I heard you the first time!” Here, repetition may be taken as distrust or condescension.
A century ago, the great Columbia University Professor of Education, John Dewey, taught that communication is essentially an arc in which there is a flow from sender to receiver, and along that arc there are myriad moments when messages are strengthened, weakened, changed, or lost. Yet, all parties are part of that arc. Neither the sender nor the receiver functions alone nor independently.
Hence, as we encounter this week’s portion and its repetition of the Torah’s commandments, we are charged to participate in the repetition. It wasn’t only Moses speaking again, but also we are hearing it again. It is our task to listen repeatedly. And, who knows: we may hear an entirely new idea which we did not discern in the first go round!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Repeating ourselves? Saying the same thing over again?
For some, it is an effective way of confirming that the message is delivered. For others, it is rambling. Sor some, it is effective pedagogy; for others it is annoyance.
Interestingly, the question arises in commentaries to this week’s Torah portion. We are near the end of our 40-year trek, and commencing the Book of Deuteronomy, which by its very name (Greek, deutero: second; and, nomos: law, hence, second law, or repeated law) indicates a repetition of the laws which were received earlier in the Torah. That is exactly what transpires; Moses proceeds to recount the story of our 40 years, and to reassert the laws which have been given to the Jewish people.
Hence, the commentaries. They ask, is this repetition a function of Moses’ desire to deeply instill the laws in our hearts and minds, so they are more likely to be followed? Or, does this demonstrate that Moses was aging and prone to repeating himself? Or, is this a different message, altogether, one of reproach in which Moses takes his last shots at the people before he strides off into the wilderness to die at the hand of God?
There is no correct answer. It clearly depends on our own points of view. Yet, it is a worthy question. What is the effect of repetition?
Elsewhere, a commentary teaches that words which are repeated are for emphasis. When a worried mother repeatedly calls out for her child, there is urgency. Similarly, when a politician repeats her or his stump phrase, it is to seal the communication. The messages are emphatic.
Yet, there are times when one says, “Alright, I heard you the first time!” Here, repetition may be taken as distrust or condescension.
A century ago, the great Columbia University Professor of Education, John Dewey, taught that communication is essentially an arc in which there is a flow from sender to receiver, and along that arc there are myriad moments when messages are strengthened, weakened, changed, or lost. Yet, all parties are part of that arc. Neither the sender nor the receiver functions alone nor independently.
Hence, as we encounter this week’s portion and its repetition of the Torah’s commandments, we are charged to participate in the repetition. It wasn’t only Moses speaking again, but also we are hearing it again. It is our task to listen repeatedly. And, who knows: we may hear an entirely new idea which we did not discern in the first go round!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
