Dear Friends,
Turn it and turn it again, as everything is in it. Reflect on it and grow old and gray with it. Don’t turn from it, for nothing is better than it. (Pirkei Avot 5:22)
Simchat Torah was observed on Monday and Tuesday in most Jewish communities around the world. At HCRJ, however, we will be observing this special day honoring Torah in our lives on Friday night. Central to our worship experience, we will finish reading the last sentences in the Book of Deuteronomy and immediately begin a new scroll with the reading of the story of creation in the Book of Genesis. This practice represents the cyclical nature of the relationship between the Jewish people and the reading of the Torah.
In addition to reading from the sacred scrolls, we will celebrate their value and importance in our lives with two additional celebrations which focus on Torah. We will celebrate with Zachary Koenig and his family as he becomes bar mitzvah, and we will rejoice with the youngest members of our congregation as they receive their own mini scrolls for Consecration. Please join us for a full Sabbath celebration centered around the joy of Torah.
L’Shalom-Steve