2
A
s I write these words for this issue of the
President’s Report
,
I am reminded of a philo-
sophical observation that both our ancient
rabbis and modern philosophers have made – that
the realm of the human being is distinct from the
realm of nature. The realm of nature is governed by
a mechanistic determinism. As the Gemara phrases
it, “Suppose a man steals a measure of wheat and sows
it in his own field,
din hu she’lo titzmah
–
it would be
right that the wheat not grow.” After all, it is stolen
seed. Yet, “
’
olam ke’minhago noheg
–
nature pursues its
own course.” The world of nature is not one of volition.
In contrast, our human world is one of free will and
choice. Our tradition captures this notion in the concept
of
Brit
(
Covenant) that undergirds our religion. This
notion holds that the Jewish people and all humanity
are capable of shaping and directing the world, that
we are
shutafin
(
partners) with God in these tasks.
Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise granted this belief such
centrality in his thinking that he amended the first
paragraph of the
‘
Amidah
,
the prayer
par excellence
in
Jewish tradition, to read, “
V’zocher brit avot
–
O God,
Who remembers the
Covenant
(
Brit
)
made with our
ancestors,” in lieu of the more familiar, “
V’zocher hasdei
avot
–
O God, Who remembers the
loving deeds
of
our ancestors.”
In so doing, Rabbi Wise declared Jews in every age –
today no less than our ancestors in generations past –
are called to recognize that we are not simply born
into the world as if by fate alone. Rather, we are called
to the creative task of molding our world and our
community, fashioning within that which is fashioned.
President’s
The conviction that human beings
possess freedom and responsibility
has animated the educational endeavors
that have marked
Hebrew Union College -
Jewish Institute of Religion
since the
days of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, and
they continue to serve as the foundation
upon which our school rests today.
