I am a product of trauma. Each of us, without fail, can probably look back on our lives and find a traumatic experience that has helped shape who we are today. Especially in our early years on earth, we can all find moments where we were more or less traumatized by the actions of others. How can we possibly move beyond this caricature and build a bright, beautiful future for ourselves and our world? After all, I am where I come from.
The answer lies in this week's torah portion, Bamidbar, which we read just before the start of Shavuot on Sunday evening. Bamidbar means in the desert, and of course, Shavuot celebrates the day we received the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The question is posed by many: why the desert? Is there no better place to give the Jewish people the Torah? Let's consider the desert; it's a place where people do not dwell. Not only can people not dwell there, but seemingly nothing can, including what you might assume is spirituality. G-d, therefore, transforms our worldview by specifically choosing the desert as the scene for the giving of the Torah to tell us that its divine wisdom is always accessible no matter who you are, where you are, or where you've come from.
This idea is cemented by the lives of three Jewish luminaries, some of the greatest that ever lived, and their connection to the holiday of Shavuot. Moshe, who brought the Torah down the mountain on this day; King David, who was born and passed on this day; and the Baal Shemtov, who passed on Shavuot. Each of these giants grew up in traumatic, even tragic circumstances; though different one from the next, they were all tested tremendously at a very young age. Yet, through the study of Torah, they were able to move forward informed by their early challenges but not defined by them.
The availability of Torah to all people, at all times and in all places, enables us to transcend the limitations of nature and nurture, propelling ourselves forward to reach greater and greater heights. Yes, we are where we come from, but we can be so much more if we're only willing to climb the divine ladder of Jewish life.
Mission: Start learning more Torah on your own, in a class, or with a partner; it doesn't matter what you learn, only that you learn. Watch your worldview transform through the gift of a divine lens.