Judaism for the Thinking Person
Reading Books as the Spiritual Practice that Will Heal Us
Sep 23, 2026 · 25 min · 9 segments
Yom Kippur Sermon 2026
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Nadav CaineHost
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Judaism for the Thinking Person
Sep 23, 2026 · 25 min · 9 segments
Yom Kippur Sermon 2026
Nadav CaineHost
While others have statues and other forms of iconography in their places of worship, Jews have preserved the Ark of the Covenant as an ark in the sanctuary, and into it we put not a statue, nor emptiness, as in the Kodesh Kodeshim, not the Ten Commandments, not incense, we put our book.
Where others bow and prostrate, take sacraments, seek intervention through an icon of a patron saint, we Jews make the central part of our worship, getting out the book, putting it on the table that used to hold the offerings of the temple, read it out loud, read it to oneself in a chumash at the same time, have someone deliver not just a book report, but a book investigation.
The word drash or midrash literally means the action of seeking, seeking meaning, answers, connections, questions, insight.
We've been enriched by life's experiences and by others sharing their seekings and findings.
A closet with a book that contains five books, and we read it over and over again, challenging each other for who knows what's been said about it over thousands of years, and more importantly, challenging each other to come up with new interpretations that truly work with the text, with deep listening and deep conversation with it, as good or even better than our ancestors.
It's like a mirror, but a mirror that reflects back something we're not sure yet what we're going to find.
We connect to our ancestors by asking a question or being troubled by something, assembling clues.
As Martin Buber said, a person who reads the Torah and doesn't get bothered by it, they're a thief.
And sometimes we even ask a question that has never been noticed before and we rush to share insights with others.
While others have statues and other forms of iconography in their places of worship, Jews have preserved the Ark of the Covenant as an ark in the sanctuary, and into it we put not a statue, nor emptiness, as in the Kodesh Kodeshim, not the Ten Commandments, not incense, we put our book.
Where others bow and prostrate, take sacraments, seek intervention through an icon of a patron saint, we Jews make the central part of our worship, getting out the book, putting it on the table that used to hold the offerings of the temple, read it out loud, read it to oneself in a chumash at the same time, have someone deliver not just a book report, but a book investigation.
The word drash or midrash literally means the action of seeking, seeking meaning, answers, connections, questions, insight.
We've been enriched by life's experiences and by others sharing their seekings and findings.
A closet with a book that contains five books, and we read it over and over again, challenging each other for who knows what's been said about it over thousands of years, and more importantly, challenging each other to come up with new interpretations that truly work with the text, with deep listening and deep conversation with it, as good or even better than our ancestors.
It's like a mirror, but a mirror that reflects back something we're not sure yet what we're going to find.
We connect to our ancestors by asking a question or being troubled by something, assembling clues.
As Martin Buber said, a person who reads the Torah and doesn't get bothered by it, they're a thief.
And sometimes we even ask a question that has never been noticed before and we rush to share insights with others.
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