Said to Myself

In Ki Tisa, this week’s Torah portion we read of the people sinning with the Golden Calf while Moshe was getting the Ten Commandments. Moshe comes down from Mt. Sinai with tablets in hand to deal with the sinners.  And then we  read,

31 And Moshe returned unto the Lord, and said: ‘Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them a god of gold. 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray of You, out of Your book which You have written.’ 33 And the Lord said unto Moshe: ‘Whosoever has sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. Exodus 32: 31-33

If God does not keep God’s promise to the Israelites, Moshe asks to be erased. Moshe breaking through the 4th wall has got to be one of my favorite ideas in the Torah.

I was thinking about this earlier this year when Adina and I got a letter from Yishama’s 4th grade teacher. There she wrote:

Hello! We’re so glad that Yishama is feeling better and is back in school. I wanted to share something sweet and insightful that Yishama said during reading today. We were discussing The Chocolate Touch and whether or not we’d want to be one of the characters in the book and why. A few children shared, and then Yishama raised his hand. “Well, we’re already kind of in a book … G-d’s book! (Looks up at the ceiling) You’re doing a great job of writing it!” I thought this was just so wonderful that I had to share it! – Morah Brooke

What does it mean to see your life playing out as part of book? What does it mean to break that 4th wall in your own life? And most importantly,  I love learning lessons from 4th grader.

-Other thoughts on the 4th Wall