185 - For the Writing

Last Sunday marked a blessed beginning at my synagogue. As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, we have commissioned the writing of a new Torah scroll. On Sunday, with a bit of learning, a bit of ceremony, and a bit of cheesecake, the first word, Bereshit, was written. Rabbi Shmuel Miller, the master scribe, trained in Tunisia and New York, who will write our scroll, came from his home in California, to teach us. His work, he said, is "not an art in the modern sense. It is a craft which requires religious knowledge, spiritual preparedness, and calligraphic skill." Speaking to a large gathering of our Reform congregation, Rabbi Miller embraced us with his knowledge and gentle humor and was patient with explanations. He sat our rabbi, Peter Knobel, down to write the first letter, the bet of Bereshit, and then completed the word to our applause. It will take him a year to do the writing; with God’s help, we will welcome the new scroll next year on Simchat Torah. Cantor Jeffrey Klepper composed a new song for the occasion. And I did, too.

One Hundred Eighty-Five

For the Writing

You are parchment,
You are quill,
You are shapes and ornaments,
Straightlines and spaces.

You are beginning and future,
Day’s end and morning star;
You are clothed in glory,
We bow before You.

We are Creation’s witness,
We stand at Sinai;
We watch as letters rise in flame,
Soaring to heaven.

Holy One, we bless You
As this scroll is born,
Perfect and eternal,
Vessel of light.