Rabbi's Corner
Rabbi Stewart L. Vogel, Temple Aliyah,
Vice-President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California

The Ethics of the Fathers teaches us that at the age of five, a child would begin to learn Torah. The purpose of reading was to experience God’s word first hand, to relive the experience at Mt. Sinai. Just as the Torah tells us that every Israelite stood at Mt. Sinai, reading the Torah provides the opportunity for every Jew to personally relive the experience. There are to be no intermediaries between the individual and God. This is the power of reading. It is a direct connection to a moment in time. Whether it is non-fiction or fiction, reading can transport us in time and help us learn the lessons of another generation.

As the “people of the book,” Jews have long known the secret of unlocking the treasures of life through reading. For the Jewish people, life could only be understood through books on religion, science and philosophy. Reading was the vehicle by which each generation could learn from the previous one. The expression l’dor va’dor (“from generation to generation”) is a reflection of influence from one generation to another.

On the child’s first day of school the teacher would begin the learning of the alphabet by writing letters on the writing slate in honey and then allowing the student to lick the letters off. From the very first experience, learning was supposed to be a sweet experience. Learning was not a burden; it was a gift.

Because reading and learning has always been an integral part of our experience, whenever Jews migrated to different countries they made certain to learn the new language. Our ancestors, the wandering Jews, knew that the key to successful integration was through learning. In part, Jewish survival can be credited with the learning of different languages. The languages of Yiddish and Ladino are reminders of our wandering past and the influence of our travels.

I believe that the mission of KOREH L.A. is to provide the gift of reading and its benefits to all in need. In addition passing on their love of reading, the dedicated volunteers of KOREH L.A. provide the tools for successful integration into American life. In the spirit of Moses Maimonides, who believed that the highest form of tzedakah was to teach someone a trade so that they could support themselves, the volunteers of KOREH L.A. provide the most essential tool for independence and success- reading. To all of the volunteers- your efforts and dedication are a blessing. Thank you.