Rabbi Ashira's Reflections
June 2025
Dear Chevre,
I wrote my first bulletin article as the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El about two years ago. As I sat down to write this final bulletin article, I revisited what I wrote back then. In that article, I reflected on how journeys can change us and how it felt to be returning to a familiar place after completing a long one. Serving as the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El for the past two years has also been a journey, though not as long as I had hoped or expected. Like with all journeys, my time with you has changed and shaped me. I am grateful for all that I have learned from the many opportunities you gave me to support and accompany you through these past two cycles of the seasons.
Speaking of transformational journeys, it feels particularly appropriate to be entering the book of B’midbar (Numbers) in our final month in the building. The Book of Numbers recounts the Israelites’ journey from Mount Sinai through the wilderness to the plains of Moav, where they would be poised to cross the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. Before we begin reading about our ancestors’ travels, we first must cross over a large blank space in the Torah scroll between the end of Leviticus and the beginning of Numbers.
When we read or study Torah, we usually pay more attention to the letters and words rather than the spaces between. However, blank spaces are an integral part of a Torah scroll. The Talmud explains that every letter in a Torah scroll must be completely surrounded by parchment, by “blank space,” for the scroll to be deemed kosher (suitable for ritual use or public reading)1. Not only must each letter be surrounded by parchment, but according to halakhah (Jewish law), each book of Torah must be followed by four empty lines2. Practically speaking, this space makes finding one’s place in the scroll easier. However, our tradition teaches that even this blank space has a spiritual purpose.
According to the Midrash, the Torah was originally written with letters of black fire on a surface of white fire3. In what initially might seem like a stunning statement, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook taught that “the white space is a higher form of Torah. It is analogous to the white fire of Sinai—a sublime, hidden Torah that cannot be read in the usual manner”4. How could blank space hold so much meaning? Rabbi Avi Weiss explains that, “the black letters represent thoughts which are intellectual in nature… The white spaces, on the other hand, represent that which goes beyond the world of the intellect. The black letters are limited, limiting, and fixed.
The white spaces catapult us into the realm of the limitless and the ever-changing, ever-growing”5. Just as we glean wisdom from the letters and words of Torah, the black fire, we can interpret and learn from the “blank space.”
A midrash on the beginning of Vayikra, Leviticus, says that the purpose of the breaks between each portion, each verse, and even before the book itself begins is to give Moses time for reflection on what has occurred up to that point6. If Moses, even with his unique closeness to God, needed to take time to process everything he had experienced and witnessed, then how much more so do we need space to consider where we have been before moving forward!
In this final month of being at 514 Main Street, before we enter the wilderness of the uncertain future, let’s note where we have been. Let’s take account of who has accompanied us on the journey and who will continue with us. Let’s recall our motivations for the path we have chosen. And in the spaciousness of those four lines of empty parchment, let’s take a shared deep breath before we take the next step into our future.
Bivracha, With blessings,
Rabbi Ashira
p.s. My final time leading services at Temple Emanu-El will be on June 14. After June 14, I will be available for pastoral emergencies and lifecycle events. If you would like to meet with me before June 14, perhaps for coffee or a walk around Winnekenni, please be in touch by email ([email protected]). I would love to connect before we move onto the next stages in our journeys!
1. BT Menachot 29a; Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 32:4
2. Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 273:1
3. Midrash Tanhuma, B’reishit 1:1
4. Gold from the Land of Israel, pp.179-81.
5.https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/239905.12?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en
6. Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura deN’dava 1:9