AYearwiththeSagesuniquelyrelatestheSages’understandingofeachTorahportiontoeverydaylife.Theimportanceoftheseteachingscannotbeoverstated.TheSages,wholivedduringtheperiodfromthefifthcenturyBCEtothefifthcenturyCE,consideredthemselvestohaveinheritedtheoralteachingsGodtransmittedtoMoses,alongwiththemandatetointerpretthemtoeachsubsequentgeneration.JustastheTorahandtheentireHebrewBiblearethefoundationsofJudaism,theSages’teachingsformthestructuresofJewishbeliefandpracticebuiltonthatfoundation.ManyoftheseteachingsrevolvearoundcoreconceptssuchasGod’sjustice,God’slove,Torah,Israel,humility,honesty,loving-kindness,reverence,prayer,andrepentance.YouareinvitedtospendayearwiththeinspiringideasoftheSagesthroughtheirreflectionsonthefifty-fourweeklyTorahportionsandtheelevenJewishholidays.Quotingfromtheweek’sTorahportion,RabbiReuvenHammerpresentsaTorahcommentary,selectionsfromtheSagesthatchronicletheirprocessofinterpretingthetext,acommentarythatelucidatestheseconceptsandtheirconsequences,andapersonalreflectionthatilluminestheSages’enduringwisdomforourera.
