Two Minute Torah Podcast

Ki Tavo 5772 by Rabbi Corey M. Helfand

Shalom, my name is Corey Helfand, Rabbi of Peninsula Sinai Congregation in Foster City, California. Welcome to KOACH's Two-Minute Torah; a project of the College Department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism .

Why do we say "amen"? The word "amen" seems to be used universally regardless of faith, culture, or practice. It seems as if everyone knows the meaning of the word. But if I were to ask you how you would define the word "amen," you might have some difficulty and might even say, "it means 'amen.'" Personally, I always understand this word to mean a hearty approval or an expression of solemn ratification, specifically in faith. Whether offering a prayer of healing, reciting the kaddish, responding to an aliyah (honor), or answering a blessing, the word "amen" seems to create a personal connection between an act or saying with a positive experience in our lives.

This week's Torah portion, Ki Tavo, offers a different paradigm for the use of the word "amen," one that might seem counterintuitive to how it might ordinarily be used. Ki Tavo is filled with blessings, curses, and words of rebuke. Yet, the irony is that the word "amen" only appears after the curses.

Cursed be anyone who makes a sculptured or molten image, abhorred by the Lord, a craftsman's handiwork, and sets it up in secret—and all the people shall respond Amen. Cursed be he who insults his father or mother—and all the people shall respond Amen…Cursed be he who misdirects a blind person on his way—and all the people shall say Amen. Cursed be he who subverts the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow—and all the people shall say Amen. (Deuteronomy 27:15-26)

Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of England, suggests that sometimes we say the word "amen" when we want to take an oath, when we believe something to be true or we associate ourselves with something that has been said. Here in our Torah portion, we as individuals and as a community take an oath before God that we will be responsible for our own actions and not stray from the laws given to us. What I like about Rabbi Sacks' interpretation is that his definition ties in with the literal meaning of the word "amen," which comes from the Hebrew root (אמן—a/m/n) meaning to believe, to trust, to care, or to be faithful. Trusting or being faithful in God is definitely easier when blessings are bestowed upon us, when we are the recipients of praise. The greater challenge is how we respond to criticisms or even curses in our lives.

When a person recites a blessing, whether over food, on seeing something in nature, when reciting an aliyah to the Torah, or even when saying the mourner's kaddish, we engage in what Rabbi Sacks calls an "essential link between the leader and the congregation." The prayer is not only offered by the individual, but it is affirmed and even strengthened through the communal "amen" at the end. Sometimes we take the negative events in our lives personally, the curses as a punishment for something that we have done even if we are unaware of our actions. Our Torah portion, however, teaches us that we have the opportunity to fall back on one another for support—a communal "amen", a communal sense of trusting in and caring for one another that will hopefully lead to a strengthened relationship with God.

In the movie Fiddler on the Roof, the people of Anatevka come to the rabbi with their questions. One person asks, "Rabbi, is there a blessing for the Czar?" The rabbi pauses and then wittingly replies, "A blessing for the Czar, but of course. May God bless and keep the Czar…FAR AWAY FROM US!" A blessing or a curse? I'll leave it up to you. In the weeks to come, we should all take the time to reflect on the blessings we have in our lives, see the obstacles we have faced and overcome, as well as those we continue to experience. While we each have our own challenges, our own blessings, and our own curses that impact our lives day in and day out, we must not forget the role that we as individuals play in saying "amen," the acknowledgment of being a part of a communal voice full of caring, trust, and faithfulness that we can offer each other and that we can engage in with God. And let us all say, Amen.