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of freely choosing Ha'Shem, to thus become the Chosen People. Yet, as always, there is redemption. At the end of the Torah, the people, now a generation later, make it to the Jordan and cross over. Not Moses, for even he lost hope, became angry, and did not listen to Ha'Shem when he struck the rock twice. Not most of the generation of Sinai. Redemption takes time. It takes re-generation.

Still, Moses brought all of the people together, by tradition meaning all Jewspast, present, futureand passed onto them their ultimate freedom, the "doctrine" of Torah. The people could choose between the blessing and the curse, life or death, Ha'Shem's redemption or empty wandering. So, the people entered Israel between these choices. Not to live happily ever after, I might add. This is important. Life requires repeated attempts. It requires active choosing. There will be failures; but, with engagement, with choosing, with just action, there will also be redemption.

What do these covenants, and the Covenant, mean to me at the beginning of the Twenty-first Century? There is in the Torah, for me, a story of transformation and development for my life and the life of Am Yisrael (the People of Israel)from enslavement to the World to freedom in Creation through the Word. If we start at Eden, we inevitably fall from grace, struggle, wrestle with the world as Jacob wrestled with Ha'Shem's messenger. But thenbut then we find redemption. In an olive branch carried by a dove, in a Messenger with a ram, in an erstwhile angry brother's (guarded) embrace, in deliverance from Egypt. Yet, that redemption is not handed to us. There is always a costin fear, struggle, even death. There is always action to be taken. One must engage in the world. One must, through that engagement, work toward tikkun olam.

Along what path does redemption lie for me in this time, at this point in my life? Who can say but Ha'Shem? From my human, thus limited, perspective, there seem to be four answers to the question, all having to do with T'Shuva:

Revelation through Torah Study.

The healing of creation (Tikkun Olam)both spiritually, through putting study into action, and literally, through environmental justice and action.

Social Justice (Tzedakah) which is a necessary component of Tikkun Olam, but more than that, a necessary component of living in a community of human beings on earth. For me this takes the form of work on issues of racial justice, in particular white privilege; gender justice through an examination

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