Read the Torah

Man there’s a lot of laws here, and very controversial (as well as graphic) ones I might add. At least now I can say I’ve read them myself and know of the laws.

Well I have to admit that it’s a bit too judgmental and intolerant for my tastes and all about what you can’t do, and all the bloodletting rituals seem really primitive and wasteful and heartless. Sorry if that seems offensive, but it’s my take on the writings. Anyway I definitely will not be converting to Judaism anytime soon (not that it was in the plans). 60% done reading the Torah…

40% done!

I have to admit, once the Moses stories are over I had a REALLY hard time reading the laws & descriptions of the sacred items/room. Thankfully I have a study guide which makes it clearer and gives visuals.

Glad I have study guides, it’s a bit dry in sections, especially the family history parts. Story of Jacob/Esau was interesting & Joseph as well…feels like I’m watching a soap opera at times!

That all said, glad to be more aware of the teachings and stories contained in the bible.

or, Book of Life.

I have a Chumash from ArtScroll, which I highly recommend. It is wonderfully organised and there is SO much commentary!

As a gerim, it is so interesting and fun to reexamine what I’ve been taught all my life in search for אמת, truth.

I’m going to read Parshot Bereishit though Vayeira today and keep up with the weekly parshah.

it’s that I’ve done it enough to know what it is. I know I will continue to attend Torah study on Saturday mornings at synagogue, and perhaps to explore some other reading opportunities with study groups. I’m looking at another one now.

That’s the whole point…

But Torah is more than just the first 5 books of the Bible…it encompasses all of the commentaries and oral traditions that form the Talmud and other works, plus it can be used to refer to Jewish learning in general, so in that sense, one never stops learning Torah…plus there’s always something new to reflect on in the weekly portion. I’m looking forward to doing it again….and again….and again!

This week is the festival of Simchat Torah, the celebration of completing the last section of Deuteronomy and the beginning of reading the Torah again.

The Torah is divided into weekly portions and a portion is studied each week through the year. This week we celebrate finishing the cycle and beginning again—the last part of Deuteronomy and the first section of Genesis is read during this celebration.

I started reading the Torah last year in early December and had to “catch up” to the current week’s portion (I think they were in the middle of Jacob’s story when I started), and I’ve kept up with the weekly portions since then (though I admit to pretty much skimming some of the really boring bits about how to build the temple and do the sacrifices, from Leviticus).

Now I get to start again from the beginning! Whee!

I’m enjoying each one I attend, 9 am on Saturday mornings. The group is rather large, but they’re beginning to recognize me now. I find that the readings help me understand the stories and intentions behind the writings. This week is my week to bring bagels. I had better not fail…

So I made it through Genesis which was really rather interesting. I found that I had a basic knowledge of the book from what I was taught as a kid. So now I’m moving on to Exodus!!!