Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30 · Beginner voice, Standard

Hook

Have you ever shown up to a book club where everyone else has already read the first five volumes, and you are just holding the summary sheet? Or maybe you have walked into a family gathering where the inside jokes fly so fast you feel like you need a translator. It is an uncomfortable, slightly lonely feeling. You find yourself wondering, "Do I actually belong here, or am I just crashing someone else's party?"

This is a very common feeling when people first dip their toes into Jewish learning. With thousands of years of history, texts, and traditions, it is easy to feel like you missed the orientation meeting. You might think that to really be a part of this ancient story, you had to have ancestor lines tracing back to the prophets, or at least a childhood spent in Hebrew school.