Confessions of a Copycat
Hello, friends. Now that Substack has become my favorite site on the internet, I’ve found several uses for it. Aside from the platform it gives me, it’s become my first choice for divrei Torah to read on Shabbos (printed out in advance, of course.)
Last Shabbos, Jews all over the world began the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), which is Moshe’s farewell address to the Jewish people. It’s called “Mishnah Torah,” which literally means “repetition of the Torah.” In other words, it’s a recap. Moshe reviews the lessons the Jewish people will need as they enter the Holy Land without him.
Rabbi Yaacov Lyons, author of the Substack “A Pondering Jew,” explored the theme of repetition in his devar Torah entitled “Copy Cat Creativity.” As a fanfic writer, the title instantly appealed to me. I’m a creative copycat. It might sound like an oxymoron, but it isn’t.
He begins by talking about abstract art. He’s not a fan, and neither am I. Like most people, we don’t “get” it. He contends that as society has become more unmoored from tradition, and artists are expected to be more and more “original,” abstraction is the most logical step. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to translate very well. Abstract art leaves a lot of us scratching our heads.
Imitation has a bad name, but actually, it’s unavoidable. Rabbi Lyons isn’t the first one to say so. All artists build on each other’s work. That’s the point of the inspirational book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
Copycatting is also the basis for the teaching method at the Writers Studio, where I’ve studied. Just like art students learn by copying the work of the great masters, the Writers Studio encourages students to mimic the techniques of a wide variety of famous poets and authors. My Jewish Howl was originally a Writers Studio assignment.
The point of Rabbi Lyons’ devar Torah was not only that Moshe Rabbeinu was copying Hashem’s word in his recap in Devarim, but that we human beings can and should copy Hashem, too.
When we mimic and echo Him by becoming people of loving-kindness, G-d becomes revealed again through our replication.
A copycat becomes a participant in the work by repeating it. Each reinterpretation adds to the original. That is what Rabbi Lyons is saying about our acts of kindness, and lehavdil elef elefai havdolos, that’s the philosophy behind the Writers Studio. We don’t have to work so hard to “find our voice.” It comes through naturally. Koheles (Ecclesiastes) 1:9 teaches that “there is nothing new under the sun,” but each recombination of old elements produces something unique.
This idea is also central to more technological innovations, which is the thesis of Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson. He argues that every invention is the result of applying the tools at hand to resolve a problem in some brand new way. If I remember correctly, it was in his book that I read that the glass eye was invented by a professional dollmaker whose grandchild lost an eye in accident. That calamity befell many others before, but the dollmaker applied the tools of his trade in a way that nobody else would think of.
Now, I could go on a rant at this point about the quandary of how artists should be compensated when everything is imitative. As a fanfic writer, I’m not allowed to make any money from my work, but Disney borrowed those characters just like I did. I may have lifted whole chunks of dialogue and plot, but I’ve also added my unique take.
Oh, well. In the age of copyright, I don’t have a hope. But I don’t regret all the time I’ve spent on fanfic. As they teach in the Writers Studio, this kind of writing is an apprenticeship. My storytelling skills have absolutely improved, and I finally have the confidence to start something original. . . when the fanfic is finished.
Anyway, thanks to all of you for reading. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: knowing you’re out there is what keeps me going. And to those of you observing Tisha B’Av tonight and tomorrow, have an easy fast and may we all merit true and lasting peace.