A few weeks ago in preparation for an upcoming B’nai Mitzvah, I took the families into Music Director Wendy Marcus’ office to examine a text on her wall. It is the framed document describing the origin of the Czech Torah, from which we have the honor of reading many Friday nights. There are two things significant about this particular Torah scroll. The first is that it was lent to our community by the London Synagogue which has taken on the responsibility of preserving and sharing these sacred scrolls with synagogues throughout the world. Our scroll was found in a warehouse at the end of World War II, housed there by the Nazis who intended, after the destruction of world Jewry, to make a museum to a "lost" people.

When the Allied forces open the doors of the warehouse, they came upon mountains of silver and gold Torah ornaments, and hundreds of Torah scrolls. These scrolls were entrusted to British Jewry who chose to lend them to other communities until the Jewish community of origin was renewed and asked for the Torah’s return. The second fascinating thing is that the document claims that this scroll is 300 years old and yet the text is still clear and readable whether on a general Shabbat or an adult B’nai Mitzvah service.

This month at the end of Sukkot, we will celebrate Simchat Torah and consecration. The former is a holiday created to joyously mark the point when we conclude the Torah reading cycle with the reading of the last verses of Devarim (Deuteronomy) and begin anew with the first words of Breshit (Genesis). The latter is a way of celebrating new students coming forward to begin their connection with Jewish learning.

The Hasids introduced the idea of making Simchat Torah a holiday of pure joy. The community gathers and we dance with the Torah, marking seven Hakafot – separate circles as a sign of renewal and hope. It is our practice at Beth Am to then unroll an entire Torah scroll with the children gathered in the middle and all adults present holding the outside of the scroll, while various readers share a few verses before beginning again with the Creation story.

I love that our community will take a 300-year-old Torah and dance with it, showing both our joy as liberal Jews for our connection with this tradition, and the fact that we are a dynamic, living Jewish community. The celebration affirms our ongoing engagement with the teaching of Torah and our desire to share these words with which we are asked to wrestle, with the generations.

So come, whether you are 85 or 7, and dance and sing and celebrate our vitality. Please patiently put up with the noise – this is supposed to be a time of celebration – and show that Am Yisrael Chai – the people Israel live and that we are making the ancient words new again!

Chag Sameach

Happy Holidays,

Rabbi Jonathan Singer