Extra Curricular Activities

Some of our TBI and Beit Sefer Families are participating in the Jewish Federation's Production of In the Beginning.   The musical tells the story of a tribe who are present throughout the stories of the Bible, but whose stories are never told.  

 I visited a rehearsal last week so I could get some fun photos of our the TBI members who are helping to tell this story.   I have heard the entire musical now three times (one early reading, one rehearsal, and one show) and can't help but reflect on how the Torah is presented.  

I don't prefer to see God  anthropomorphized as a cosmically powerful old man.   While this is a common image of God, it is far from the more sophisticated theology I aspire towards at Beit Sefer.  Jewish scholars and philosophers have given us many other suggestions as to how relate to a sense of the divine in the universe.   On the other hand, the show is a playful take on this common image of God, and the message of free will, friendship and forgiveness is woven in a clever way that invokes a sense of midrash - creating interpretation from the Torah.