Curious about Curiosity

I went to my home synagogue (Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts) on a recent Shabbat and the subject of the sermon was one of the six Sci-Tech values… sakranut (סַקְרָנוּת)!

The sermon was titled, “The curious case of… curiosity,” and was given by Rabbi Sonia Saltzman as a guest speaker. What’s curious about the Jewish value of curiosity is that the word sakranut, curiosity does not appear in the Torah at all!

If we want to be scientific about it, that’s a problem. In science, we need evidence. In Jewish learning, we also base our conclusions on evidence, and the primary source for that evidence is the Torah.

Fortunately, Rabbi Saltzman found a story about curiosity hidden in the week’s parashah (Torah portion), Matot. As Sci-Tech learned in our weekly Let’s Talk Torah video that same Shabbat, the tribes of Reuven and Gad wanted to settle across the Jordan in good grazing land for their cattle, but Moses turned down their request, because they needed to go to war with their fellow Israelites (Numbers 32:6).

While that’s the end of the story in the parashah, it’s not actually the end of the story. It picks up in Joshua 22 (the first book of the Bible after the Torah). The war is over and the Reuvenites and Gadites who had waited patiently (savlanut–also a Sci-Tech value!) are finally allowed to settle in the land across the Jordan. But there’s another problem: They set up an altar there. God’s rules are clear: sacrifices are only permitted on one central altar, at the time located in Shiloh (before the Temple was built in Jerusalem). The other tribes are furious and want to wage war against the Reuvenites and Gadites! But, instead, Pinchas, the priest, decides to take a delegation to talk to the wayward tribes and ask what they are doing.

In other words, Pinchas responded to a difficult situation not with righteous anger (as he famously did as a young priest in an earlier Torah story), but with curiosity. In response, the tribes across the Jordan tell him that this is not an altar for sacrifices at all–it is a symbolic altar, to remind all who see it that they are part of the same nation whose real altar is in Shiloh. The purpose is to strengthen the connection (kesher–another Sci-Tech value!) between the tribes.

As camp staff, we often need to resolve differences between people. Sci-Tech’s Co-Director, Jayme Dale Mallandine, often talks about using curiosity for this in the same way, to turn a difficult conversation into an opportunity for connection. 

Rabbi Saltzman also noted that earlier rabbis have noted that when Pinchas approves of what the tribes have done, he is referred to as “Pinchas the Priest.” Prior to this, he is never simply called a priest; he’s usually “Pinchas son of Eleazar the Priest.” In resolving this situation through his own expression of Jewish values, he has earned the distinction of being priest on his own merit, not only as his inheritance, by finding a just solution on his own and not simply following the judgments of the past.

To make this all a little more scientific, Rabbi Saltzman also quoted Israel psychology professor Tal Ben-Shahar who responds to the common quote “curiosity killed the cat,” by saying (informed by his study and research) that “curiosity may have killed the cat, but it keeps us alive”!

Finally, she told us about a conversation between Rabbi Donniel Hartmann and an Arab colleague. They were discussing the maxim (Jews and Muslims both have a version of this) that you do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. They suggested replacing this with the idea that you should do unto others the way they want to be treated. And, how do you know how they want to be treated? You have to ask them. That’s curiosity. As a member of camp leadership, educator, and professional Jewish leader in another congregation, I’ve been learning this lesson as well: to bring out the best in people, you have to get to know them and know what they want.

May our evidence-backed practice of curiosity continue beyond camp and lead to more peace in the world.

 

Additional Reading

Cantor Marc Stober
He/Him/His
Cantor Marc is a Senior Lead Instructor at Sci-Tech. Summer 2025 was his 4th year at camp. He is from Newton, MA. When not at camp, he teaches Hebrew at a synagogue, teaches technology at a Jewish day school, teaches computer programming at a university, and makes Jewish music when he can. He loves learning and discovering more about how things work, both technological and regarding the human mind.