God further said, “This is the sign that I set for the covenant between Me and you, and every living creature with you, for all ages to come. I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
Breysheet/Genesis 9:12-13
Trash Talk or Hidden Names, Hidden Treasures
Every synagogue has one. A genizah, a corner, a closet, a room, used for the temporary storage of worn-out Hebrew-language
books and papers on religious topics prior to proper cemetery burial. The word genizah comes fr om the Hebrew root g-n-z, “to hide” or “to put away” and as noun is best translated as an “archive” or a “repository”.
This practice emerged from the Talmudic stipulation(1) that all sacred writings (scrolls of Torah, Prophets, and Writings) should be preserved in a place where they cannot be destroyed.
Maimonides, in his legal code, ruledthat holy books, such as volumes of Talmud and Mid rash, s hould be retired to the genizah as well, even those which do not contain God’s name.(2)
The contents of genizot have not been limited to exclusively religious materials
as it was commonplace for legal contracts and personal letters to open with an invocation of God utilizing one of the “names”(3) of God. Worn-out siddurim, tallitot, tefillin, ritual objects such as Torah mantles and ark curtains, as well as writings in other Jewish languages that use the Hebrew alphabet, routinely find their way into genizot around the world along with material that is purely secular in nature but Jewish in content.
The most famous genizah was found in a room attached to the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo. The genizah contained over 280,000 documents, fragments of documents and ritual objects dating from 870CE until the 19th century. Documents found included
commentaries and letters written by Maimonides and previously unknown poetry by Rabbi Yehudah Halevi.
Solomon Schechter, a lecturer at Cambridge University, was amongst the
first to study these materials which were remarkably important for reconstructing the religious, social and economic history of Jews, especially in the Middle Ages. In the 1890s, Schechter convinced synagogue officials to allow him to transfer most of the contents of the Cairo Genizah to Cambridge.
Today, most of the works from the Cairo genizah can be found at the Cambridge University Library, and at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where they continue to be restored, translated, and studied. The Friedberg Genizah Project is digitizing the entire corpus of manuscripts
so that it can be made available for study and research by scholars throughout the world.
Synagogues periodically clear out their genizot by burying their contents in a Jewish cemetery as a sign of reverence and respect for the material. Rodef Sholom Temple will be burying a large quantity of such genizah material in the Hebrew Cemetery shortly.
Should you have sacred texts or religious articles for inclusion please bring them to the
RST office by Thursday, October 26.
If you are uncertain if an item requires burial, please contact Rabbi Eligberg, at (518)944-4293 or rabbi@rodefsholomtemple.org.
Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
(1) Shabbat 115a
(2) Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 6:8
(3) During the Middle Ages, documents, papers, even scraps with Hebrew writing, were relegated
to a genizah and were called shemot “names,” because their presumed sanctity and claim for preservation depended on their containing, or presumed containing, the divine name.
Musical Moments for Parshat Noach
The most enduring image of this week’s Torah portion is the rainbow representing the divine promise for the future of humanity and the world.
The first two selections pick up on the imagery of the rainbow. Plus, it’s Kermit and the Stones! The third selection speaks with hope for the future.
Rainbow Connection
Kermit the Frog and Choir! Choir! Choir! in David Geffen Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8enlTBXR5Y
She’s A Rainbow The Rolling Stones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va87qt0VZ2M
Koolulam
One Day – Matisyahu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvKDCP5-xE
Koolulam is a social musical initiative aimed at empowering communities and strengthening the fabric of society. Koolulam brings together large groups of people for a unique artistic collaboration. The result is a remarkably powerful experience.
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