Simhat Torah

There is a wonderful Midrash (rabbinic interpretation) explaining the connection between the reading of the last few verses of the Torah followed by the immediate recitation of the first few verses.  This "connecting" of the two halves at the end and beginning draws our attention to the very last letter of the Torah (the lamed) and the very first letter (the bet) from the words Yisrael and Bereisheet respectively.  If we then combine these two letters together we create the word "lev" which means "heart". It is this unexpected connection between the end and the beginning which possibly suggests that the heart of the Torah is not "in" the Torah itself, rather it is in the act of concluding it and once again beginning anew.

Last week our middle school students considered the possible message in this connection, and thought about how the gap between finishing something and then immediately starting it over again could relate to the "heart" of the matter.  The critical thinking and high level discussions that ensued where the perfect way to prepare them for their afternoon's celebration and hakafot (rotations) as they then went on to celebrate with great fervor and joy, dancing and singing with the Torah during our school Simhat Torah celebration.

It is at moments like this where the true essence of our school comes out.  It is the beauty of seeing our children's minds stretched in order to contemplate these ancient and rabbinic abstract ideas and concepts, while only a few hours later providing these same children with the tangible joy and happiness of kissing and dancing with the Torah with "all their heart".  Or as the Shema so eloquently puts it "You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:4) 

I'd like to thank all of our guests who came to our school celebration, and to specifically thank the dads who carried the Torah and led the grade-level groups in their respective hakafot around the sanctuary and multipurpose room.  Additionally, I want to thank Rabbi Allouche for not only bringing two additional Torahs (one Sephardic and one Ashkenazic) to provide our children once again with another opportunity to help them understand that there are many ways of expressing our traditions and customs as well as ways of practicing our rituals, but to also thank Rabbi for chanting the final aliyah of the Torah (v'zot habracha - "and this is the blessing") for our students to hear and enjoy.

What a great way to wrap last week and begin our new week...immersed in honoring G-d with our minds, bodies, and souls.  Shavuah tov!