SIMCHAT TORAH!

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
II Timothy 3:16-17

Here is a question for you? Does the Word of God bring you joy and happiness? Does the Word of God make you so happy that you cannot wait to dive in and read it? I ask because tonight we celebrate Simchat Torah, translated as ‘Rejoicing of the Torah’. In the Jewish faith, Simchat Torah celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of reading the Torah, as well as celebrates and marks the beginning of a new cycle of reading the Torah. This cycle ending tonight began October 7, 2012, or on the Hebrew calendar, the 22nd of Tishrei.
While it may be probable that you have not been following the readings of the Torah in the past, and it is not my intention to shame you for that, the question I ask still remains. Does the Word of God bring you joy? To many it seems like it may be just a collection of tall tales, derived and penned from a number of different people who just so happened to have their tale found and published. To others, the Word of God is a set of rules, especially within the Torah, and they give no thought to it since who really wants to live under so many rules anyway. Others look at the Word of God as just another book, nothing special and nothing to live by.
And yet, to those like myself, it is life. These words are the words of God, spoken by His Spirit to prophets, apostles, kings, priests, shepherds, slaves, and the Son of God Himself. These are His words, used to urge me in living a life aimed at righteousness through teaching, rebuking, correcting and training. The Word of God is my instruction manual and its aim is to equip me for every good work. So then, within the pages of the Bible I find life. I find answers to questions, I find healing for my wounds, and I find a path in my darkness for His Word is my lamp (Ps 119:105). Every chapter, every sentence, every word, and every piece of punctuation is for my pleasure. His Word sustains me, feeds me, refreshes me, and protects me. How can I not find joy in His Word?
And so, tonight as Simchat Torah is celebrated, the Torah scrolls will be taken out of the ark and read by the people. They will first read the final chapters of Deuteronomy and then begin with the opening chapters of Genesis. In each occasion, when the ark is opened, worship will arise. The people will get up from their seats and dance and sing with the Torah in their possession, sometimes for hours at a time, because of the joy that comes with God’s Word. I ask again, does the Word of God bring you joy? When was the last time you celebrated in joy the Word of God, dancing and singing joyously, parading His life-breathing words? Maybe recently; maybe never. Maybe this is a good time to start. Come and let us rejoice in the Torah!

***If you would like to watch a live view of the Wailing Wall and the celebrations that will take place over the next 24 hours, please view the following links:

close up:
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/livekotel/newkotelcam/virtualjerusalem/index.php?affid=18

far away:
http://english.thekotel.org/cameras.asp