At Avot 6:2
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi teaches:
בְּכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם
בַּת קוֹל יוֹצֵאת מֵהַר חוֹרֵב וּמַכְרֶֽזֶת וְאוֹמֶֽרֶת: אוֹי לָהֶם
לַבְּרִיּוֹת מֵעֶלְבּוֹנָהּ שֶׁל תּוֹרָה
[Translation] Every day, a heavenly voice resounds from Mount Horeb
(Sinai) proclaiming and saying: "Woe is to those creatures who insult the
Torah”.
The
question has often been asked: if a heavenly voice is emanating from Mount
Sinai on a daily basis, why doesn’t everyone hear it? My mother-in-law provides
the answer. If the line is open, if the potential recipient is prepared to
receive a message, that message will get through. If not, however great the effort
that goes into its the transmission, the message will vanish into the ether and
no-one will ever know it existed.
We may
think that we know all that we need to know in terms of Torah; we lead good
Jewish lives and that’s quite enough for us, thank you. But this should not
lead us to assume that we can turn off our receptors. The Torah may remain
constant and unchanging through the generations, but each generation faces its
own challenges. That’s why Torah teachers have to rise to the occasion and show
how Torah remains relevant, indeed vital, in any period of change.
We must
remain receptive if we are not to miss the messages that speak to the relevance
of Torah. If we fail to keep our line open, we may miss the chance to
appreciate how ancient wisdom and tradition can reasserts their values in the space
we currently occupy. And that would be an insult.
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