Parashat Nitzavim-Yayeilekh 5769--Writing your own Torah

The Torah, we are taught, is sprinkled with 613 Mitzvot or Commandments. From the esoteric to the obvious, from the offensive to the inspiring, from the irrelevant to the meaning-filled, we struggle to understand, to accept, to reinterpret, and to challenge. In this week’s double Torah Portion, Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilekh, we are given the 613th mitzvah (commandment).Parashat Ha’azinu, which we will read in two weeks).

The commandment seems to be delivered by God to Moses and Joshua or the entire people. The ancient rabbis were not so tied down to minor issues of context. They explained that this 613th Mitzvah is as follows: A person must write a Torah Scroll. Deuteronomy 31:19 declares, “Therefore, write down this poem and teach it to the people of Israel; put it in their mouths, in order that this poem may be My witness against the people of Israel.” In the context of the Torah verses, it seems clear that “the poem” to which the verse refers is the chapter-long poem that follows shortly after (this poem is found in

Ralbag (Rabbi Levi Ben Gershom, a 14th century Biblical interpreter) has a different take on the verse. He says that “the poem” to which this verse refers “is the entire Torah from beginning to end.” He adds: “And this was the purpose of the commandment, that each man should write a complete Torah scroll for himself, including the poem [Ha’azinu] within it, so that nothing shall be missing from all the things that are in the Torah.”

I read this with an egalitarian eye and understand: Each person should write a Torah for him/herself.

And I ask: What does it mean to write a Torah?

In explaining this verse, Rabbi Abraham Chill explains “It is not sufficient to be related to the Torah in a detached and objective way. What is required of the Jew is to involve himself personally and subjectively—body and soul—in the commandments of Torah...” I agree.

When I speak with people (parents, in particular) about the purpose of Jewish Education, I often explain that my goal is to bring each student to Torah. When I say this I have a few particular assumptions in mind:

- Different people have different paths to Torah. Each person’s path to Torah is unique.

- Different people arrive at different Torahs. Each person’s Torah is unique.

- The process of coming to Torah never ends. The route is ever-changing. Torah is ever-evolving.

I love the 613th Mitzvah for these very assumptions. Each of us is commanded to write a Torah for ourselves. Our Torah is unique. Our selves are unique. And all of us, we as individuals and the Torahs we write, are hugged tightly by our tradition, cushioned in the words of our People’s Torah. And our People’s Torah seems to know: Torah is only relevant when it is owned by every individual.

This 613th mitzvah holds particular meaning as we enter the last week of Elul. We are in the heavy work of reflection. We are taking stock of our lives and reflecting on where we have been, where we are going, and where we want to be. We are reflecting on who we have been, who we are, and who we want to be.

“Write yourself a Torah” and live it with delight.

On Sunday, we will begin a new year of Religious School. Our students will walk back into their Temple Home and rededicate themselves to Torah. They will begin authoring Torah anew, finding their path, and coming into Torah wholly with body and soul. Write for yourselves a Torah!

As adults, our work of teshuvah (of turning and returning) this week is to ask ourselves: How will I write a Torah for myself? What will be my path? What will be my Torah? We should ask and seek not only for ourselves, but also for our children. They are looking for our guidance and our love along their way. Write for yourselves a Torah!