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February 17, 2023 (26 Shevat 5783) How Uplifting! Dear Holy Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health. Please join us this upcoming Saturday morning in our beautiful sanctuary for Shabbat services, which begin at our new starting time of 10:15am. Cantor Zim will lead services this Shabbat as I am in the Holy Land on a school trip. Aaron Klein is sponsoring this week’s Kiddush luncheon to honor the memory of his parents, Selma and Robert, so we thank him for sharing his Mitzvah with the congregation. I would also like to thank the members of our community who attended our recently completed adult education series “Torah Tipping Points” and our guests, Rabbi Alpert, Rabbi Beaullier, Ayalya Wasser, and Shira Eliaser, who shared with us about their experience of extending the reach of the Torah. Our next program will consist of an in-person, Sunday morning “Bagels and Bible” series, which will begin on March 12th. The details are forthcoming. While last week we heard the beautiful chanting of the Ten Commandments by Dr. Avi Yacobi, this week’s parshah of Mishpatim contains an accounting of fifty-three mitzvot, of which twenty-three are positive (imperative) commands (things to do) and thirty are negative commands, or prohibitions. Our tradition is certainly full of both commandments and Minhagim (established customs), each intended to uplift our spirituality and connection with Judaism. One example of a custom that we witness each Shabbat after the reading of the Parasha is the lifting of the Torah scroll, referred to as Hagbah. Raising the Torah expresses a commitment to observe the Torah in both public and private, validates the Torah’s authenticity and efficacy (that’s why we point at it when it is raised), and encourages others to follow the Torah’s precepts. Most importantly, lifting the scroll for all to see shows that the Torah is, perhaps literally, our highest priority. According to the Talmud, the opportunity to lift the Torah for the congregation is a great responsibility and a great honor. The Gemara (Megillah 32a) teaches that “Rabbi Shefatya said that Rabbi Yochanan said: ‘If 10 people read from the Torah, the greatest among them should lift the Torah scroll, for this is the most distinguished honor. And the one who lifts it takes the reward of all of them,’ Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi adds that the Magbiah (Torah lifter) receives a reward equivalent to that of all of them.” The biblical basis for lifting the Torah comes from the Book of Nehemiah, chapter eight, which describes Ezra the Scribe gathering the entire community on the first day of the seventh month and publicly teaching from the newly redacted scroll. “He read from it, facing the square before the Water Gate, from the first light until midday, to the men and the women and those who could understand.” The text tells us that he had six Gabbais on his left and another six on his right, all checking his reading. We learn וַיִּפְתַּ֨ח עֶזְרָ֤א הַסֵּ֙פֶר֙ לְעֵינֵ֣י כׇל־הָעָ֔ם that Ezra opened the scroll before all the people on this auspicious occasion. While we lift the scroll after the chanting, the Sephardic custom is to lift the Torah before the chanting, which seems to follow the biblical example above more precisely. It seems that our Ashkenazic custom may be based upon the following urban legend: The Kaf HaChaim (Orach Chaim 134:17) writes that Ashkenazim moved the lifting to after the chanting because ignorant people thought seeing the Torah’s text uplifted was more important than hearing it, so they would leave the Shul after Hagbah! As a result, Ashkenazim postponed Hagbah until after the Torah reading to ensure that people stayed to hear the chanting. Last, while the honor of Hagbah is great, there comes with it a responsibility that also brings the possibility of punishment. For those unfamiliar, as a word of caution, please keep in mind that the penalty for dropping the scroll is a shared forty-day congregational fast. So, if you might be called on to lift the Torah, be sure to eat your Wheaties that morning! As we enter Shabbat, I pray that we continue to be uplifted by all of our Mitzvot, Minhagim, and shared experiences. Shabbat Shalom from Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Eric L. Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
CLICK HERE FOR A HAGBAH LESSON!
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