Going Door-to-Door (or Dor-to-Dor)

Isaac Newton—physicist, astronomer, “discoverer” of gravity, founder of modern calculus, investigator into optics, and theologian—is reported to have said, “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Rabbi Daniel Lapin explains it this way:

A potential Einstein who appears on the scene as a young child, but from whom all knowledge of past discoveries in theoretical physics has been withheld, must start from scratch in his scientific inquiries. Under such conditions, he will never become the Einstein familiar to us as the greatest scientific genius of this past century. In fact, he’ll be lucky if he reinvents the wheel. In one person’s lifetime it simply is not possible to progress from the wheel to nuclear power without building on earlier discoveries. (Buried Treasure, p 84)

Who have been the “giants” in your life? (i.e. the ones who gave you what you needed to see farther)


Rabbi Daniel explains this continuity with those who came before:

Whether in the workplace or the family, the importance of ensuring continuity from generation to generation lies behind the Hebrew word that means generation: DOR.

In Hebrew thought, a DOR is not a number of years, like twenty or twenty-five, but a measure of continuity on which all else depends. It is a spiritual, not biological, measurement. A child, his parent, and grandparent add up to three generations only if we can identify something beyond DNA that has passed down from grandparent to parent to child. (pp 83-84)

What has been the continuity, if anything, in your family? (What got handed down from your grandparents to your parents and then to you? What have you handed on to children or grandchildren?)


Generations are not necessarily bound together by DNA. What have you received or passed on to those to whom you are not related? What are the communities?


The Hebrew letters for the consonants of DOR have a similar shape: ד (for the D) and ר (for the R). The first is often translated as “law” or “structure” and the latter as “mercy” or “flexibility.”


How do you see these meanings in similar, but different, shapes of the letters?


Consider Psalm 32. Where are law & mercy, continuity & generations found in this psalm?


Rabbi Daniel says, “But this is just as it must be. First [structure] and then and only then comes [flexibility]. Future dorot (the plural of dor) will reap the benefits. (p 89)

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said,
I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

What will you do with what you have learned?


Closing Thought: Newton actually wrote more about theology than about the science for which he is best remembered.