download:posterGo to Tool Kit > Frames of MindSelect by:ArtistAuthorQuoteArtistAuthorQuoteMasters SeriesProudly JewishWall of FameMaster tabPoster Commentary"At the heart of what it means to be a Jew is to ask questions."Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg SassoPoster design:James SteinbergCommentary by Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso When we are young, we are filled with curiosity, always wanting to know why, and never content with a single explanation. We are not afraid of hard questions, until later in life when people try to convince us to stop asking. To be a Jew is never to accept “I told you so” as a satisfactory answer. To be a Jew means to live with complexity, to prefer the question mark to the period. God asks Adam, “Where are you?” Cain questions God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Abraham challenges God, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do justly?” The ancient rabbis always ask of the biblical text: What’s missing? What’s troubling? What does it mean to me? Each question spawns another, and what results is a patchwork of profound creativity. There is an insightful truth about Judaism contained in the many humorous stories that suggest if there are two Jews, there are three opinions, that one Jew requires two synagogues, that Jews tend to answer a question with another question. In a world where people are dangerously preoccupied with certainty and dogma, Judaism embraces ambiguity and doubt. A young person once asked me whether Judaism gave me all the answers to my questions. I responded, “Judaism helps me to ask the right questions and to live with the questions for which there are no answers.” Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso was the first woman ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (in 1974). She is rabbi emeriti of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis, where she served as rabbi for thirty-six years. Rabbi Sasso is an award-winning author of numerous children’s books and winner of a National Jewish Book Award. She lectures in religion and Judaism at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Rabbi Sasso is active in the arts, civic, and interfaith communities. She has written and lectured on women and spirituality and the discovery of the religious imagination in children. Conversation Guide WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Was there ever a time when you were discouraged from or afraid of asking a question? How did you feel and react? 2. Have you ever been faced with a question that could not be answered? What did you do then? 3. What questions do you bring to Judaism? Where do you seek your answers? WHAT DO YOU SEE? 1. The figure peers from behind a curtain that depicts a scene from nature. What do the placement, expression, and emotions of the person suggest about the quote? 2. The place the person is coming from is much darker than the place they might step into. How does this reflect the quote? 3. What emotions does this image arouse in you? When have you identified with the person in the poster? Credits Frames of Mind©2015, James Steinberg, Quote: Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, Harold Grinspoon Foundation, West Springfield, MA AuthorRabbi Sandy Eisenberg SassoLives in IndianapolisRabbiWriterAbout Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso was the first woman ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (in 1974). She is rabbi emeriti of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis, where she served as rabbi for 36 years. Rabbi Sasso is an award-winning author of numerous children’s books and winner of a National Jewish Book Award. She lectures in religion and Judaism at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Rabbi Sasso is active in the arts, civic, and interfaith communities. She has written and lectured on women and spirituality and the discovery of the religious imagination in children. Links Interview by Jewish Book Council Author Page on Amazon Media On becoming the first woman rabbi ArtistJames SteinbergUnited StatesIllustratorDesignerAbout James Steinberg is an illustrator whose works grace book covers, CD covers, magazines, annual reports, and websites. Steinberg studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, and has often appeared in the Communication Arts, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, and Print regional design annuals. His extensive client list includes the U.S. Postal Service, Polygram Records, Strathmore Paper, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Time, The New York Times, and Fortune. Links James Steinberg's Website Other Works Quote"At the heart of what it means to be a Jew is to ask questions."Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg SassoContext At the heart of what it means to be a Jew is to ask questions. The Haggadah, which retells the core story of the Jewish people from slavery to freedom, begins with questions. And what follows are not definitive answers but a story. Not only is the Talmud known for its interrogative and argumentative style, but even the Bible is at heart a questioning text, exploring life’s meaning and mystery. The story of Judaism is, from the beginning, grounded in the hard questions with which every generation has to struggle. Source Source of quote: I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl, edited by Judea and Ruth Pearl. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004, page 127. Hebrew המשמעות העמוקה של להיות יהודי היא לשאול שאלות. -הרבה סנדי אייזנברג סאסו Select by Artist Ofra Amit Orit Bergman Nina Duran Asaf Hanuka Frances Jetter Michael Morgenstern Robert Neubecker Einat Peled Rosalyn Schanzer Arnold Schwartzman James Steinberg Jean Claude (J.C.) Suares Select by Author Albert Einstein Anne Frank Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg Harold Grinspoon Franz Kafka Emma Lazarus Rabbi Nachman of Breslav Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Hannah Senesh Natan Sharansky Select by Quote "A book must be an axe to break the sea frozen inside us." "The whole world is a very narrow bridge. The key is not to be afraid." "How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world!" "Until we are all free . . . none of us are free." "A life without a dream is no life. But a dream without limits is an illusion." "Imagination is more important than knowledge." "Keep two pieces of paper in your pocket at all times. On one: “I am a speck of dust,” and on the other : “The world was created for me.”" "We must believe not only that all people are created equal but also that all peoples are created equal." "At the heart of what it means to be a Jew is to ask questions." "It’s when the winds blow the hardest that you need the deepest roots." "Savor every moment of your life as if this is your last day." "There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark." Select by Artist Ofra Amit Orit Bergman Nina Duran Asaf Hanuka Frances Jetter Michael Morgenstern Robert Neubecker Einat Peled Rosalyn Schanzer Arnold Schwartzman James Steinberg Jean Claude (J.C.) Suares Select by Author Albert Einstein Anne Frank Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg Harold Grinspoon Franz Kafka Emma Lazarus Rabbi Nachman of Breslav Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Hannah Senesh Natan Sharansky Select by Quote "A book must be an axe to break the sea frozen inside us." "It’s when the winds blow the hardest that you need the deepest roots." "At the heart of what it means to be a Jew is to ask questions." "We must believe not only that all people are created equal but also that all peoples are created equal." "Until we are all free . . . none of us are free." "Imagination is more important than knowledge." "Savor every moment of your life as if this is your last day." "There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark." "The whole world is a very narrow bridge. The key is not to be afraid." "A life without a dream is no life. But a dream without limits is an illusion." "How wonderful it is that no one has to wait, but can start right now to gradually change the world!" "Keep two pieces of paper in your pocket at all times. On one: “I am a speck of dust,” and on the other : “The world was created for me.”"