Rabbi's Shofar Back Page*

>>>Previous Back Pages

Aliyah to the Torah in Seven Steps (Part 4)

“Take hold of the Torah handlesand recite the blessing before reading the Torah. This will be printed in large type (both in Hebrew and transliteration) next to the Torah. Remember to repeat the second line, after the congregation.”

(Step 3)

Torah, in our Tradition, is “eitz hayim hee la’mahchazeekim bah,” a tree of life for those who grasp it. This verse from Proverbs is the source of the custom of holding onto the “aitzei hayyim,” the Torah handles, made from trees, while reciting the Torah Blessings. When we do this, we grasp “the tree of life” both physically and figuratively before and after we read the Torah.  

When the Children of Israel journeyed through the desert, the Tent of Meeting traveled within the camp of Levi, which was right in the middle of the camp. The Tent of Meeting was right in the middle because within the Tent of Meeting was the Aron - the Holy Ark in which the Torah was kept. The Torah has to be in the center. It is not closer to one person, nor further from another. Every Jew can be as close to the Torah as any other.

Similarly, the Tree of Life was planted in the middle of the Garden of Eden. The handles are in the center of each of the Torah scroll just as the Tree of Life was at the center of the Garden. And similarly, the Torah is the center of the life of the Jew. If he moves it to one side and relegates it to a weekend activity, his life becomes distorted and unbalanced. Materialism rushes to fill the void that he has left by putting the Torah 'to one side.'  The Torah requires concentration. We must concentrate it at the center of our lives. For it is the heart of our faith. Just as from the heart flows life itself, and thus its place is in the center of the body, thus the Torah was at the center of the camps of Israel.

The custom of grasping the Torah during an Aliyah embodies the timeless connections between Torah and Jews.

*The selection of topics and viewpoints expressed on this page of the Shofar are those of Rabbi Bernard Gerson and do not necessarily reflect an official position of Congregation Rodef Shalom.