Sunday, October 7, 2007

Call to Silence and Opening Meditation

Hiney Mah Tov U-Mah Na-Im Shevet Achim Gam Yachad
(How good and pleasant it is for everyone to live together as one)

What is Torah? The Torah is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. The word Torah means "teaching", "instruction", "scribe", or "law" in Hebrew. It is also known as the Five Books of Moses, the Law of Moses, or Sefer Torah, which refers to the scroll cases in which the books are kept.

A Sefer Torah is a formal written scroll of the five books, hand-written on parchment by a trained Torah scribe under exceptionally strict requirements. The term is sometimes also used in the general sense encompassing the entire spectrum of authoritative Jewish religious teachings throughout history, including the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and more.

The Torah comprises the first five books of the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, known as the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. To Jews, there is no "Old Testament", as the books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The five books, and their names in Hebrew (the Hebrew names are taken from the initial words within the first verse of each book), with translations, are:

* GENESIS: B'reshit ("In the beginning...")
* EXODUS: Shemot ("Names")
* LEVITICUS: V'ayikra ("And he called...")
* NUMBERS: Bamidbar ("In the desert...")
* DEUTERONOMY: D'varim ("The words" or "The discourses")

Readings:

Why are the words of Torah like fire?
As fire from a single flame kindles many flames, so each word of
Torah kindles many minds, illumines many hearts. The Torah gives
light to all who make use of its bright and shining flame.

The Torah is God's great gift to the House of Israel.
The People of Israel without Torah is like a body without a soul.
Like water, it cleanses and is refreshing.
Like wine, it gladdens the heart.
Like a crown, it raises us high-
Higher than the throne of kings and queens.
When Torah entered the world, freedom entered it.
The whole Torah exists only to establish peace.
Its highest teaching is love and kindness.
What is hateful to you, do not do to another person.
That is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary; go and learn it.
Those who study Torah sustain the world.
Honoring one another, doing acts of kindness, and making peace; these
are our highest duties.
And the study of Torah leads to them all.
We rejoice in Torah: it is our life, the length of our days. Praised
be the God who teaches Torah to our people Israel.

Song

Torat Emet Natan L'amo Eyl. Al Yad N'vi-O Ne-E-Man Beyto.
Lo Yachalif Ha-Eyl, V'lo Yamir Dat.
L'olamim, L'olamim, L'zulato.
(Through the hands of Moses, God's faithful prophet, we received the Torah of truth.)

Readings

"Meditation Before Reading Torah" (a poem by Marge Piercy)

We are the people of the word
and the breath of the word fills our minds with light.
We are the people of the word
and the breath of life sings through us
playing on the pipes of our bones
and the strings of our sinews
an ancient song carved in the Laurentian granite
and new as a spring azure butterfly just drying her wings
in a moment's splash of sun.
We must life the word and make it real.

We are the people of the book
and the letters march busy as ants
carrying the work of the ages through our minds.

We are the people of the book.
through fire and mud and dust we have borne
our scrolls tenderly as a baby swaddled in a blanket,
traveling with our words sewn in our clothes
and carried on our backs.

Let us take up the scroll of Torah
and dance with it and touch it
and read it out, for the mind
touches the word and makes it light.
So does light enter us, and we shine.

Keep your father's wisdom; do not forget your mother's teachings.
Bind them always to your heart, seal them into your mind.
When you walk, they shall lead you; when you lie down, they shall keep you safe. The shall be with you when you wake up.
For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light.
Torah is light. In the House of Bondage it gave us hope, and showed us the way to freedom.
Torah is light; the light of our prophets, the light of our teachers.e
Torah is light. It showed us our way in the wilderness, and led us to the Land of Promise.
Torah is light: the light of our poets, the wisdom of our people. We inscribe its words on parchment, for all the people to learn.
We take it into our hearts, to do as we have learned!

Song

Al Sh'losha D'varim, Al Sh'losha D'varim,
Al Sh'losha, Sh'losha D'varim Ha-Olam Ha-Olam Omed (2x)
Al A Torah, V'al Ha-Avodah, V'al G'milut Chasadim (2x)
(The world depends on three things: on TOrah, on worship and on acts of loving kindness.)

Readings

As You taught Torah to those whose names I bear, teach me TOrah, too.
Its mystery beckons, yet I struggle with its truth.
You meant Torah for me: did You mean the struggle for me, too?
Don't let me struggle alone; help me to understand, to be wise, to
listen, to know...
Lead me into the mystery.

From "Bringing Heaven Down to Earth" by Tzvi Freeman:

Before the experience at Mount Sinai, there was earth and there was heaven. If you wanted one, you were obliged to abandon the other.

At Mount Sinai, the boundaries of heaven and earth were broken and humankind was empowered to fuse the two: To raise the earthly into the realm of the spirit, and to bring heaven down to earth.

Before the experience of Mount Sinai, the coarse material of which the world is made could not be elevated. It could be used as a medium, an aid in achieving enlightenment, but itself could not be enlightened.

Jacob used sticks for meditation, Isaac dug wells. But neither the sticks nor the wells became imbued with Godliness.

All that changed at Mount Sinai. When you take a piece of leather and write upon a Torah scroll, you have transformed the material into spiritual. And the same with flour used for matzah for Passover night, and branches used to cover a succah, and even the earnings which you tithe for good causes. And so you may do in every aspect of your life.

Our ancestors' task was to enlighten the souls of men and women.
Ours is to transform the material darkness into light.
What is Torah?
Love your neighbor as yourself.
What is mitzvah?
Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.
What is Torah?
Depart from evil and do good; be just and do what is right; do not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling-block before the blind. The world is sustained by three things: the truth, by justice, and be peace.
The world depends on three things: on Torah, on service, and on loving deeds.
What is Torah?
The Torah is a tree of life to those who hold it fast, and all who cling to it find happiness.
What is the way of Torah?
Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.

Song

Eytz Chayim Hi, Lamachazikim Bah V'to-M' cheha, M'u-Shar.
D'ra-Cheha, Darchey No-=Am, V'kol N'tivotecha Shalom.
Hashiveynu Adonai Eylecha V 'nashuvah.
Chadeysh, Chadeysh Yameynu,
Chadeysh Yameynu K'kedem.
( It is a tree of life to those who hold it fast. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Help us to return to You, O God, then truly shall we return. Renew our days as in the past.)

Call to Conversation

"The Silent Sound of Alef" (a story about the giving of the Ten Commandments)

No one really knows for sure what happened on Mount Sinai. Some people imagine that God dictated the whole Torah, word by word. Others believe that the Ten Commandments were carved in stone with the finger of God. The Torah itself tells different stories. Some think that, in addition to the Torah, God also whispered the Talmud (additional ancient writings) to Moses. Some believe that God did not speak or write; rather, God inspired Moses. And there are even those who think that Moses imaged the whole thing.

At different times, different people may have believed one or another explanation. That is the Jewish way. Something as important as how God talks to people and what God says has been a constant source of Jewish debate. All agree, however, that what happened on Mount Sinai was a turning point in Jewish history.

Once, several people were having just such as argument. The first one claimed that God gave the whole Torah, word by word. A second one said that God gave only the ten sayings, commonly called the Ten Commandments. A third person remembered the old legend that tells that God didn't give ten, but only the first two Commandments, ("I am the Lord your God..." and "You shall not have any other gods beside Me..."). "After tall," that person suggested," the first two sayings are the basis for all of Judaism. One who remembers that there is a God who frees people and that there are no other gods will probably be pious." A fourth person said that God uttered only the first saying, "I am the Lord our God". The four agreed that, if God had given only one saying, it would have been the most important one-that there is a God.

"No, God didn't even say that much!", insisted a fifth person. "All God said was the first word of the first saying, "I" (in Hebrew, Anochi)." All five then agreed that, if God had said only one word, it would have been Anochi, because it affirms the importance of the self.

Then Rabbi Mendl Torum ofRymanov, who had been listening to all of this, came forward and said, "Not even the first word., All God said was the first letter of the first word of the saying-which, in Hebrew, is also the first letter of the alphabet, Alef." "But we thought that the Alef was a silent letter" replied the others. "Almost, but not perfectly silent," answerd Rabbi Mendl. "You see, Alef makes a tiny, little sound that is the beginning of every sound. Open your mouth and begin to make a sound. Stop! That is Alef. God made the voice of Alef so quiet that, if you made any other noise, you wouldn't be able to hear it. At Sinai, all the people of Israel needed to hear was the sound of Alef. It meant that God and the Jewish people could have a conversation."

The Jewish mystical books teach that Alef-the "almost" sound of the first letter of the first word of the first Commandment-contains the entire Torah. But not everyone hears the gentle sound of Alef. People are able to hear only what they are aready to hear. God speaks to each of us in a personal way, taking into consideration our strength, wisdom, and preparation.

Closing Song

V'ha-Eyr Eyneynu, B'torateacha V'da-Beyk Libeynu, B'mitzvotecha.
V'yacheyd, L'vaveynu, L'ahava, U'L-Yira Et Sh'mecha.
V'lo Neivosh, V'lo Nikalem, V'lo Nikashel, L'olam Va-Ed (2x)
(Open our eyes with your Torah, consecrate our hearts to Your mitzvoth (Commandments); and let the love and awe of Your name make us whole. Then we shall never be shamed; then we shall not ever stumble)