We are the People of burnt TorahThe Five Books of Moses, and the foundation of all of Jewish life and lore. The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and study of the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah itself a scroll that is hand lettered on parchment, elaborately dressed and decorated, and stored in a decorative ark. It is chanted aloud on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, according to a yearly cycle. Sometimes "Torah" is used as a colloquial term for Jewish learning and narrative in general. scrolls,
Whose words lift generations
And their teachings through the air
When all else is broken and laid to waste.
And we are the People of the fire on the great mountain
Becoming again and again
From slavery to misery
And yet, transcending darkness
Surviving death.
But we are also the people of the candle stick’s flame
Marking life and light still
Enkindling a hope that refuses to fade.
Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, ha-mavdil bein kodesh l’chol, bein or-le’choshekh, bein Yisrael la-amim, bein yom ha-shevi’i l’sheshet y’mai ha-ma’aseh. Barukh ata Adonai, ha-mavdil bein kodesh l’chol.
“Blessed are You, Creator of the Universe, who chooses us and helps us choose the sacred in the midst of the profane.”
