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What Is This?
It is more of a Riff on the parsha, not really a Dvar Torah.[1] But that is not the ikar. In my 24+ years in the Seattle Jewish Community, I was surrounded by friends who are deeply immersed in Torah and Yiddishkeit. One in particular (S.G.) has been writing a weekly dvar for 12 or more years. I recall him telling me, some time ago, that he writes it “So when I am gone, my children will be able to know what I was thinking.”
This resonates with me.
I have written this dvar on and off since 2019. I think. After years of procrastination, much of 2021 was spent psyching myself up to engage with weekly intent. Bereishit of that year was the kickoff. My life is exceptionally full and blessed. That said, 5782 was painful and difficult. Somehow much growth occurred. Many of the 5782 dvars are essentially letters. To myself. To those close to me. To those who were close to me.
Until May of 2022, these were sent simply as emails. This blog launched in May of 2022. I have back filled the older pieces (as of January, 2023). (Yes, 2019, 2020 & 2021 are spotty. It’s me, not you.)
I welcome your thoughts and feedback, which can be sent as replies to any of the emails this site generates. (For example, the summary format was suggested by a reader. c.f. How To Read a Zimber Dvar. — Thanks to A.M.Z.)
2023-02-18: For non-parsha thoughts, see the sister blog zimberthink.substack.com.
— R.Z. November, 2022
P.S. To answer your question: “What is with all the Russian in these Dvars?” The answer is… I am a student of the Russian language. No, it was not spoken in my house growing up. No, neither my parents nor grandparents speak (or spoke) Russian. Yes, I have a Russian sounding last name. However I am not, by any current measure, a Russki or a Russian Jew. I grew up in California in monoglot American English. I studied Russian in college, and then worked there for a couple of years. The Russian language is a gem that I access to the best of my ability.
To the question: Why are some of them written in (rather bad) Hebrew? I was a student at Middlebury College, in the School of Hebrew, for the summers of 2020, 2021 and 2022. In 2022 I wrote the dvar in Hebrew (as writing it in English would violate the Language Pledge). It is difficult, for me, to write in Hebrew. I did the best I could (with the help of some of the language instructors). Apologies for the imperfections. HTH
[1] The “Riff on the parsha” phrasing is S.G.’s. Thank you.
