When we take out the Torah for the public ritual reading, we chant the following quote from Isaiah 2:3, "Torah is going forth from Zion, the word of God from Jerusalem." In the biblical context, this verse describes the divine instruction emanating from Jerusalem that will guide the nations of the world to usher in an era of world peace.

On Tuesday evening, May 30, it is the holiday of Shavuot during which we celebrate the original revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai. The description of this numinous event that we read about in Exodus 20 has inspired the idea that God has and continues to communicate with us. Isaiah takes this idea of continuous revelation and shifts the location from Mt. Sinai in the wilderness to Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, where the Temple was built in the heart of the Israelite kingdom.

In this piece I describe how Torah is being revealed today. I am honored to participate in the upcoming momentous ordination of Nizan Devorah Stein, the first Conservative rabbi to be ordained in Germany since the Shoah on June 18 and the significance of this resurgence of Torah in the life of our people.

-Rabbi Barkan