Growing the Tree Outside the Fence

Speeding down the road on Sunday my peripheral vision caught sight of a row of trees growing on the highway side of a very high fence set on a rise. The trees were equally spaced and appeared to be trimmed to perfection and the roots of the trees were proudly showing themselves creating a distinctive contrast to the earth and the fence. I thought ‘wow a tree growing outside a fence’. I kept repeating the phrase as I sped along yearning for slower traffic or that I was in the right hand lane and could stop to take a photo to remember the beauty I had seen and the thought that followed.

When I began coming back to Judaism Rabbi David Zeller, a mentor and friend and now of blessed memory, asked me what kind of rabbi do you want to be? I intuitively responded ‘one that takes down the fence around the Torah.’ I did not know what that meant or would look like. And I sensed that there was something of Judaism that was not being shared.

When I had this conversation I had just returned from traveling for a year around the world where I had exposed myself to many traditions and in reflection to these holy teachings I was beginning to see the richness of the tradition of my birth and wanted to share this joy. I was like the recovering addict who had found truth and now wanted everyone to be saved, too.

Several years later I am more articulate and I hope more kind to myself and more inclusive; I am committed to sharing Hebrew Wisdom with my world as a way of joining with other faiths in making the world a better place. As anything kept secret takes lots of energy to hold back. And when I read and hear about Christian values and Buddhist practice and Islamic teachings all in one place and the writers rarely invoke Hebrew Wisdom I am confused. I do not understand why. I only know I feel invisible. My ego will not let me rest in that place; my soul pushes me forward.

In Pirke Avot, Teachings of the Fathers, one of the books of the Talmud that is considered an Oral Torah or a rabbinic interpretation of the scriptures and how to interpret and apply the Law I have read ‘make a fence around the Torah’. A metaphor for the Torah is the Tree of Life.

A fence keeps out an unwanted element and protects what lays within. I often ask what is in my heart that needs protection and what is in Hebrew Wisdom that needs to be known? Will I care for what is taken out from the fence? Can I live a life where there is no hierarchy of wisdom and that we each have our own path to coming Home? And that sometimes that path is woven with elements from other places. The Society of the Vav says ‘yes' and please do it now.

Several years ago in a very intuitive moment I created the collage above. I now call it 'the tree growing outside the fence.'

Blessing of the Vav: taking a moment to have some fun in noticing with the innocence of a non-judging mind your relationship with your fence; what does your fence look like, where does it exist, what does it protect, who does it let in or keep out, and what do you want to learn?