From Rabbi Craig Mayers
October / November 2021
Der mensch tracht, un Gott lacht
Chaverim,
We are about to do something extraordinary. Something wonderful. Something rare and beautiful. And the best part is: we’re going to do it together.
In my life so far, I’ve belonged to and attended synagogues in several states and cities. And yet in all that time an opportunity never arose like what we have before us today: to write our own Torah scroll.
Why are we doing this? And why now? Well, there are both practical and spiritual reasons. But perhaps a better answer comes from Pirkei Avot where Rabbi Hillel asks, “if not now, when?” The Torah commands us – in the very last mitzvah – to write our own Torah. To take these words and make them our own, by inscribing them for ourselves and for our descendants to come. But how? Writing a Torah takes enormous training and skill, and only a relative handful of people around the world possess it. Fortunately for us, to fulfill the mitzvah requires only our active participation along with a trained sofer (scribe).
We are about to do something extraordinary. Something wonderful. Something rare and beautiful. And the best part is: we’re going to do it together.
In my life so far, I’ve belonged to and attended synagogues in several states and cities. And yet in all that time an opportunity never arose like what we have before us today: to write our own Torah scroll.
Why are we doing this? And why now? Well, there are both practical and spiritual reasons. But perhaps a better answer comes from Pirkei Avot where Rabbi Hillel asks, “if not now, when?” The Torah commands us – in the very last mitzvah – to write our own Torah. To take these words and make them our own, by inscribing them for ourselves and for our descendants to come. But how? Writing a Torah takes enormous training and skill, and only a relative handful of people around the world possess it. Fortunately for us, to fulfill the mitzvah requires only our active participation along with a trained sofer (scribe).
It is stated in the Talmud (Menachot 30a): “…the proper manner in which to perform the mitzva of writing a Torah scroll is (for each) to write one for themselves. And if they themselves write a Torah scroll, the verse ascribes them credit as though they received it at Mount Sinai. Rav Sheshet says: If they emended even a single letter of the Torah scroll, thereby completing it, the verse ascribes them credit as though they had written it in its entirety.”
Placing you and your family’s hands on the quill and helping the sofer to fill in a letter in our new Torah is a feeling that cannot be conveyed or described – you simply must experience it. And every one of us will have that same once-in-lifetime opportunity very soon.
As your Rabbi, I have had the honor of presiding over lifecycle events from baby namings to bar/bat mitzvahs, to weddings and, sadly, to many funerals and memorials. Each of those precious celebrations and observances held deep meaning for both myself and the families involved. I can only imagine what it will be like to be there when we perform this mitzvah together, involving all of our families! Many Rabbis go their whole career without being part of a Torah project, and I am truly blessed to be able to share this with my TBS family.
We all wish to leave a legacy for those who will come after. We all wish to transmit our values and history “l’dor vador” – from generation to generation. The Torah tells us to teach these words to our children, to make sure we transmit our heritage to subsequent generations. As we kick off our Torah Project 613 we are giving each and every member of TBS an opportunity to literally make their mark on our parchment.
We all wish to leave a legacy for those who will come after. We all wish to transmit our values and history “l’dor vador” – from generation to generation. The Torah tells us to teach these words to our children, to make sure we transmit our heritage to subsequent generations. As we kick off our Torah Project 613 we are giving each and every member of TBS an opportunity to literally make their mark on our parchment.
Torah scrolls, when maintained well, can easily last for centuries. Imagine knowing that generations of our descendants will be using the same Torah that you wrote in! Our children, and theirs, will be able to study and read from this Torah that we crafted together with love. To our Jewish community, there can be no greater legacy than that.
As I write this message, we are mere days away from Simchat Torah, the holiday that celebrates the never-ending cycle of Torah study and learning. As we complete the last sentence of Deuteronomy, we immediately rewind the Torah and begin anew at “Bereishit bara elokim” – “In the Beginning, G-d created…” We are at our Bereishit, the very beginning of our Torah journey together. Our new Torah will be wound and unwound for generations to come, but we will always be the ones remembered for having put it into motion.
In this most challenging time of disunity and adversity, we need a project like this more than ever. A project that will unite all of us in a single, holy purpose. A project that will benefit our congregation today and for the future. And most importantly a project that reminds each of us that we are mishpacha – we are family. I so very much look forward to sharing this new joy with all of you, my family.
Rabbi Craig J Mayers
As I write this message, we are mere days away from Simchat Torah, the holiday that celebrates the never-ending cycle of Torah study and learning. As we complete the last sentence of Deuteronomy, we immediately rewind the Torah and begin anew at “Bereishit bara elokim” – “In the Beginning, G-d created…” We are at our Bereishit, the very beginning of our Torah journey together. Our new Torah will be wound and unwound for generations to come, but we will always be the ones remembered for having put it into motion.
In this most challenging time of disunity and adversity, we need a project like this more than ever. A project that will unite all of us in a single, holy purpose. A project that will benefit our congregation today and for the future. And most importantly a project that reminds each of us that we are mishpacha – we are family. I so very much look forward to sharing this new joy with all of you, my family.
Rabbi Craig J Mayers