Dor wa Dor

Generation to Generation

As one studies the scriptures an idea forms fairly quickly that Adonai is not just directing us learning about him and his will for our benefit but for the benefit for others as well. The idea of teachings and understanding passing from generation to generation is very important to Adonai. It almost seems as if the more we learn the more we are expected to pass on. This can be to our children or it can be others as well. This generational message and mission is part of the reason community and fellowship is important.

We even recite this as part of the Shema and V’ahavta every day. Devarim

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 6

4“Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5Love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6These words, which I am commanding you today, are to be on your heart. 7You are to teach them diligently to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. 8Bind them as a sign on your hand, they are to be as frontlets between your eyes, 9and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

We also find them in the Vehayah, the middle stanza of the Shema, Devarim specifically in verse 19:

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 11

19You are to teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up.

Then in the final Stanza Vayomer found in Bamidbar specifically verse 38 we have the concept of passing understanding to the next generation actively stressed.

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 15

38“Speak to Bnei-Yisrael. Say to them that they are to make for themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and they are to put a blue cord on each tzitzit.

All of the world multiple times a day people are reciting these words in prayer. The stress that is placed on them speaks to the importance they bear. If we learn about Adonai and we are able to gain great understandings and keep it to ourselves such that we live a truly holy life but we do not share the understandings with others then we have only fulfilled half of our mission.

As I was preparing for this lesson I was reminded of a thought shared with us from a friend of ours. She simply pointed out Adonai does not have grandchildren. He refers to every one as his child. That is to say each of us as individuals must have a relationship with our God. He purposefully and individually created each of us in his image. As such each of us must have that relationship with Adonai on our own. We cannot have the relationship for our own children or another. Yet how did we come to know Adonai? I dare say some one introduced us to him. We may have had to study on our own to get more understanding and we may pursue Adonai differently than the one who introduced us to him but none the less some one directed us to him.

What if we do not have any children or our children are grown or we have already taught our children these lessons? Are we done? The responsibility for passing information to the next generation rests on the communities shoulders. We must assist, support, and teach each other so that we can successfully complete our mission of delivering the message to the next generation. If we are honest we need the help too. Being a parent is hard. We compete with a world filled of slow poisoning sweets and we must be constantly vigilant or we will consume them let alone guard our children from them.

All of this is not new. Each of us if asked “Is it important to pass on information to your children?” would answer yes of course. I have no doubt in this but do our actions reflect our words? They must cause the last thing we want the next generation believing is that we are a bunch of hypocrites. If they think this then we lose almost all of our credibility.

So what do we do? We play the Oreo game. We fellowship on Shabbat. We celebrate together and mourn together. When one of us succeeds we all acknowledge the triumph and when one of us struggles we all pitch in and help. Some people call this process living as a community. It is endanger of disappearing from our country and society. What if the way we can be the biggest influence to the lost and unsaved is to be a community? What if before they ever knew us as believers who kept Torah they just new us as friends?

It is in this process of living that we are able to reveal what we really believe as it is said with our actions rather than words. Everyone that would see us would know us by how we loved rather than by what we said. I do not know about you but when someone is silent about their beliefs but then I see them behave appropriately that does more to build trust than when I see someone say the right thing then turn around and do differently.

So what do we do? Do we build a wall and only allow those that prove worthy to come in? Do we only interact with those whom we see are trust worthy? Do we cut off the rest of the world? Of course not and honestly we cannot and should not. The reality is we live in exile. We are not in the kingdom and we interact with atheistic and idolatrous people everyday. Yet God loves them. He would have them saved too.

In fact to give credit where credit is due, this is something the Christian church has succeeded at for a long time, outreach. There are thousands of Christian organizations reaching out to the lost and the hurt everyday. The Christian church has made huge gains and done good work with wicked and dangerous people to help them repent and change. Many do so without an expectation for that person to be anything other than who they already are.

Yet admittedly in the process they Christian church may have gone to far and has forgotten they are to be set apart from the world. Many of their organizations even quote 2 very popular verses:

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 17

14I have given them Your word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world. 15I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

It is interesting to note that it is due to the acceptance of the word is juxtaposed against the world hating those who have been given the word. What word is this accept the word from the beginning the message Adonai has repeated throughout time his Torah. If the quote would be extended just 1 more verse then we might see a more complete picture.

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 17

17“Make them holy in the truth. Your word is truth.

Holy means set a part. Make them set apart in you truth. Your Torah is truth. Then again another verse that is often quoted yet maybe missed is:

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 12

1I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service. 2Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Again we see the urging to be holy or set a part and not conformed to this world. The Christian Church has done a lot of good in this world yet it has missed a very important point. Sure sometimes when we help others we will get messy but we should not become part of the mess.

So how do we balance this out? How can we teach from generation to generation how to live righteous lives set a part from the world and yet still live in the world and interact with those that are not in agreement with the scriptures?

I think we just read about it. In fact I think we read about this every time we study any of the mitzvot. We build spaces that we do not compromise on. In fact when we look at things like the temple, the priesthood, the various commandments and we can see how we are kept set a part. It is included in the words we say when pray often times or at least acknowledged that we are made holy or set a part by the Torah or commandments. This is the dividing line that allows us to be in the world to help the world but not of the world and different from the world. This is what we pass on to the next generation and why. Not only so they can be righteous for righteousness sake but so they can be righteous and save the world from its self.

If we take this understanding that we keep and teach Torah to the next generation so that we can rescue the people in the world from the wickedness of the world, then we have an understanding of what the gospel message truly is and how we fit in to it. The message is this: “From before anything was made Adonai loved you and he wants you with him but you must be rescued from yourself.” How we fit in to it the gospel message is this: “The gospel came to us because it is headed to someone else. We are a conduit through which the gospel travels.”

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 1

1In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3All things were made through Him, and apart from Him nothing was made that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.

In order to participate in Dor wa Dor the teaching from generation to generation the words of the Torah we must deliver the gospel to where it is going, and that is to people of all the nations.

as the establishment of the