Do you
have synesthesia?
Synesthesia is a
neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive
pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or
cognitive pathway. People who report a
lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes.
“Four
percent of the population, when seeing the number five, also see color red. Or hear a C-sharp when seeing blue. Or even associate orange with Tuesdays. And among artists, the number goes to 20-25
percent! This neurologically-based
condition is called synesthesia, in which people involuntarily link one sensory
percept to another. The colors, sounds,
numbers, etc. differ among people (for example, you might see five in red,
while someone else sees it in orange), but the association never varies within
a person (that is, if five for you is red, it will always be red).” - See the full article here.
I am not a
synesthete, but our ancestors were at Sinai.
The Torah
states (Shemot 20:15):
וְכָל הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת
וְאֶת הַלַּפִּידִם וְאֵת קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר וְאֶת הָהָר עָשֵׁן וַיַּרְא הָעָם וַיָּנֻעוּ
וַיַּעַמְדוּ מֵרָחֹק:
And all
the people saw the voices and the torches, the sound of the shofar, and the
smoking mountain, and the people saw and trembled; so they stood from afar.
What does
it mean that the people SAW voices and the sound of the shofar? Rashi quotes the Midrash that the Jews “saw
what was audible, which is impossible to see elsewhere.”
My
understanding is that the revelation at Sinai was on overwhelming sensory
experience. It cannot be captured the
way we usually describe what we see and hear.
Receiving the Torah was an experience of synesthesia.
It was
AWESOME!
There is a
mitzvah to “remember the experience at Sinai.”
How can this be accomplished? The
simple way is to remember the Torah, to study it, to live it.
I think
remembering Sinai also means recapturing the emotional and sensory
experience. How is this to be
accomplished? We don’t generally see
sounds or hear sights these days? After
all, most of us are not synesthetes?
Use your
imagination.
Let me
give you an example.
What do
you see in the circled portions of this picture?
This is
the part of the scagliola pillar in front of which I daven in KJ’s Main
Synagogue. When I look up during
prayers, I see that patch. On the top
right, I think it looks like Harry Truman.
On the lower left, it looks like a lion.
Now, maybe
it doesn’t, but that’s what I see.
We each
find different things in all that is around us using our individual
imaginations. The same is true within
our Jewish experience.
Remembering
the Sinai experience is a call to use our imagination and creativity in living
passionate and meaningful Jewish lives.
We study Torah and practice Jewish law.
What else can we find in our religious lives that generates
excitement? Where are your Harry Truman’s
and lions on your patch of scagliola?
Some
people are synesthetes.
Our ancestors
had an uncommon sensory experience at Sinai.
Using our
imagination and creativity, what will we find that keeps the Sinai experience
alive for us and our children?
