This year, when I asked the students to choose a biblical figure they admire, I received several unconventional answers. As in other years, we had a Sarah and a Joseph. Eve was not on my list of suggestions, but she was not a big surprise. I was surprised to have students ask to represent Pharoah, NOT the bad one – the good one who made Joseph his second in command, the snake from the garden of Eden, and, the reason I am telling you this today, “the donkey from the story of mah tovu”.
Maybe this is why, of all the rituals of the holy temple, this one has been revived and reimagined in so many ways. It has made its way into our prayer service, as a way for the kohanim or the leaders to bless the whole community, wherever we live. It has entered our homes as a blessing given lovingly from parents to children each Friday night. It has entered many of our rituals of transition as a blessing for a new stage of life or a new endeavor. Last week at our school’s graduation, a selection of students formed a choir to offer this blessing to our graduates as they set off on the next stage of their educational journey.
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