A Simchat Torah Welcome from JOI's Founding Director Dr. Egon Mayer z"l

The Torah. Is it history? Is it God's word taken as dictation by Moses? Or, is it a compilation of wisdom produced by a group of writers whose identities are long lost in history? The questions are as numerous as the answers, and none are conclusive. For a great many Jews it is not merely a "book" or even "the book," it is the foundation of Jewish collective existence. It is not just words written on parchment scrolls, but the ideas, ideals, legends and personalities that constitute the heart of a civilization called "Jewish." For that reason, it is read and re-read in a cyclical pattern.

In most traditional Orthodox and Conservative synagogues the entirety of the Five Books of Moses is read in fifty-four weekly portions, starting with the creation story of Genesis and concluding with the death of Moses in Deuteronomy. The holiday of Simchat Torah celebrates the conclusion of that reading cycle. Interestingly, the celebration is capped by starting from the very beginning. No sooner do we conclude than we begin all over again.

The book never ends, because in a very real sense it is about the evolving life of an ever growing people.