Prayer on Receiving a New Torah Scroll
Creator of the Heavens and the Earth,
We stand here together – your people –
Just as our ancestors stood at Sinai so many years ago.
From that day to this,
The earth has continued its journey around the sun,
The seasons have passed,
And we, as your people,
Have traveled through many lands
Where we have loved and grown,
Sorrowed and rejoiced, prospered and suffered.
Throughout these journeys
Your Torah has been our faithful companion,
Guiding us, sustaining us, and lighting our pathways.
We stand here together – your people –
Just as our ancestors stood at Sinai when they shouted:
“We will do, and we will hear.”
We stand ready for your avodah.
We give thanks to the one who has given us Torah.
Blessed are you our God.
Ketubah for a New Torah Scroll
On the ______ day of the week of the month of ______, in the year _________ since the creation of the world according to our accustomed reckoning, corresponding to ______________, in the City of _________,
We, the members of Congregation _______________, promise to consecrate ourselves, individually and communally to your Torah, represented here today by our new Seifer Torah, just as our ancestors consecrated themselves when they stood at Sinai.
We promise to make the words of Torah sweet by loving, honoring, and cherishing each other and the works of your creation.
We promise to work together to make for this seifer Torah a congregational home which will be faithful to the teachings of Torah, committed to deeds of loving kindness and tikkun olam, filled with reverence for learning and spiritual fulfillment, warmed by loving generosity, sanctified by music, candles, and wine, and always meriting the presence of the Shechinah.
We promise to act as friends, to give each other joy and to support one another in times of sadness, to honor our differences, to strengthen one another in our goals, and to bring up our children within the covenant of Israel.
We promise always to support one another and to act with forgiveness, compassion, and integrity, guided by the teachings of Torah and linked eternally to the past, present and future of the Jewish people.
