The Torah of Taylor Swift
Inspired by a text study by Dalilah Bernier
Anti-Hero
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה HaShem אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶך/רוּחַ–הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסק בְּדִבְרֵי-תורָה
Barukh atah HaShem Eloheinu melech/ruach ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la’asok b’divrei torah.
Blessed are You, HaShem our G!d, King/Breath of the Universe, who has sanctified us with commandments, and commanded us to study words of Torah.
Source 1: TALMUD Sotah Daf 22a
The Sages taught: Who is an ignoramus?
Rabbi Meir: It is anyone who does not recite Shema in the morning and evening with its blessings. Rabbis say: It is anyone who does not don phylacteries. Ben Azzai says: It is anyone who does not have ritual fringes on his garment. Rabbi Yonatan ben Yosef said: It is anyone who has sons and does not raise them to study Torah…
Rabbi Yitzḥak says: These are individuals who repeatedly learn the halakhot but do not know the reasons behind them. The tanna’im, who recite the tannaitic sources by rote, are individuals who erode the world.
Questions:
What makes someone a “good” person to the Rabbis? What are these judgements based on?
What might we say makes someone “good” now in pop culture? These don’t have to be judgements we agree with, but what messaging do we get?
How has Taylor accepted or rejected that messaging in her music and actions?
Source 2: Anti-Hero
LYRICS:
It's me
Hi
I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime
Everybody agrees
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby
And I'm a monster on the hill
Too big to hang out
Slowly lurching toward your favorite city
Pierced through the heart but never killed
Did you hear my covert narcissism
I disguise as altruism like some kind of congressman?
(Tale as old as time)
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day I'll watch as you're leaving and life will lose all its meaning
(For the last time)
A Deeper Read - the Pardes model
The PaRDeS model is an acronym whose letters spell the Hebrew word for field, a wide open space for exploration, setting down roots, and watching things grow.
Pshat - simple meaning: What is happening in this line?
Remez - deeper meaning: what does it mean? To the singer? To you? What might it bring up for your parents? Grandparents?
Drash - the sermon inspired by this line: imagine you were giving an inspiring speech to a congregation about this - what would you say?
Sod-secret meaning: read the line three times emphatically and then silence for 1 min. What is the secret of the line?
Source 3: Likutei Moharan, Part II 24:1:1
It is a great mitzvah to always be happy, and to make every effort to determinedly keep depression and gloom at bay.
Questions:
What does the pressure to be happy do to our mental health?
Do you think that this source is a good example of what a Mitzvah is?