Student Defines Divine Communication

Why this is here: Franz Rosenzweig famously responded to the question of whether he wore tefillin with “Not yet,” indicating an ongoing, evolving commitment to Jewish practice.

Rabbi David Wolpe recounts a seventh-grade student, Rebecca Adler, offering a simple yet profound answer to the question of why God seems silent. He had been asked why God no longer speaks as to Abraham and Moses. Adler, during a class in Hollywood, Florida, suggested that performing mitzvot—commandments—is akin to hearing God speak again.

Wolpe connects Adler’s insight to the work of Franz Rosenzweig, who emphasized personal encounters with Judaism over inherited interpretations. Rosenzweig believed God’s presence at Sinai was a relational beginning, prompting individuals to discern their own obligations. Similarly, Abraham Joshua Heschel taught that fulfilling mitzvot reveals God’s presence within our actions.

The article appears ahead of the Shavuot holiday, commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments. While a direct, collective revelation like Sinai may not repeat, Wolpe suggests the possibility of ongoing, personal connection through mindful practice. The search for divine communication continues through lived experience.