Going Forth from Zion

"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the Torah of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." -Acts 15:19-21

I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about my congregation, going through our traditional worship service in my mind, considering the Torah portions and the ritual surrounding people being "called up to the Torah".

The "tradition" of reading the Torah portion every Shabbat at my congregation pre-dates my tenure as a leader, but it was instituted many years ago when I first started attending. The congregational leader at the time purchased what I would consider a "toy" Torah to use as a representation so he could conduct a "Torah service". I didn't know any better back then, so I figured it was normal.

He passed away and eventually a friend of mine and I (I've mentioned him before) joined the newly formed board of elders to try and bring some stability to the group.

My friend is amazing. He's extremely talented (especially for someone who started out life as an "Idaho farm boy"). He's fluent in a number of languages including Biblical Hebrew and Greek, and is quite well versed in Talmud and Jewish ritual. When he led the prayer service and Torah service, it was something to behold.

When he left, I "inherited" many of his responsibilities. I turned the prayer service over to someone else but I was asked to retain responsibility over the "Torah service".

I'm not really very good at it.

As time passed, I began to question how we were doing things and especially the use of the "toy" to try and replicate a "Torah service". I've actually been to a "real" Torah service, and I can assure you, what we do isn't really up to snuff.

But it's a congregational value to have that part of the service, assuming we have ten readers, so we keep doing it. I managed to convince the board last fall to trim back on the service, including eliminating the actual processional. I felt distinctly foolish following a miniature "Torah" scroll around the room and was concerned how Christian guests might perceive all the bowing to this object.

However, I feel that the actual reading of the Torah portion is important and should be maintained. I think it's valuable for both Jewish and non-Jewish believers alike. Apparently so did James when he said:

For the Torah of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” -Acts 15:21

This is one of the most difficult parts of the Jerusalem letter to understand for both Christians and Messianic Jews since, in the context of addressing proper behavior by non-Jews in a synagogue and Messianic worship setting, he seems to say that the Torah has value to the Gentiles!

I've found it valuable...not just reading the Bible, which is of course valuable to everyone, but the public reading of the Torah Portion, Haftarah, the Psalms and the Apostolic Scriptures.

We're a pretty nontraditional group. We have a "reading service" whenever we have ten people who can read. We've even allowed children under 12 or 13 to read if they wanted (some are pretty shy, but others love it). They're always so thrilled to do an "adult" thing and it really engages them in the service.

I remember once we had a woman who was a guest from a congregation in the Puget Sound area. I guess it wasn't a value in her congregation to allow women to read from the Torah portion. When I offered her the opportunity to read from the Torah with us, it was like I'd given her the most precious gift in the world. It was like finding treasure. It was like watching someone come home after a long journey. It was wonderful.

There was a time when we had several guests including an adult woman and her mother. The older woman was on oxygen and it was very difficult for her to get around. I could tell she wanted to read from the Torah portion, but her ability to stand for even short periods of time was very limited. I took the Tikkun (which is what we actually read from) down and sat by her, holding it on my lap so she could read it. Although she and her daughter never came back to our services, they couldn't stop thanking us for this simple act of compassion and kindness.

We have an elderly woman who attends services regularly (she lives in an assisted living home, so we provide transportation for her to come). Her first language is French although she reads and speaks English quite well. She suffers from dementia, and although that doesn't inhibit her reading, but she still wants me to stand next to her while she reads in case she makes a mistake (she almost never does).

I know I'm going to get "heck" for this practice in our congregation, publicly reading the Torah portion, allowing non-Jews (including me) to read the portion, allowing children to read the portion (and maybe for some of my really conservative readers, for allowing women to read from the portion).

While we don't do the service well, and I'd be happier if we didn't have to attempt to perform a "traditional" Jewish Torah service (the board put their foot down and said they wanted to retain that much...they wouldn't even let me offer the first reading to a Jewish person), it is a value within my congregation and I honor it.

But I'm not saying we shouldn't read the Torah portion publicly. I think it's important for both Jews and non-Jews. It's symbolic of both Jews and non-Jews having access to the Word of God. It's saying that there is no restriction in reading the Bible for anyone. It's not just for Jewish people. It's not just for men, It's not just for educated people or academicians. If the Bible isn't for all humanity then it means nothing at all.

I'm not saying that there aren't portions that specifically reference the Jewish people, but Yeshua (Jesus) came, lived, died, and was resurrected so that all nations could be made into disciples of the Jewish Messiah (Matthew 28:19) and come to know the One God of Israel.

In the days of Paul, Peter, and James, the Torah was read every Shabbat in the synagogue where both Jews and non-Jewish God-fearers worshiped. In those days, when non-Jews came to faith and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48), the Torah of Moses had already been preached in every city from the earliest times. The Prophet Isaiah spoke the words of God saying, The Torah will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3) and Paul wrote All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

There are lots of disagreements in the Messianic blogosphere and I suppose this will spawn another one, but I think it's very important to hold onto the Word of God. I don't think it's enough to read it to yourself privately (though that's important, too). I don't think it's enough to teach a study based on a portion from the Bible (yes, that's also important). Reading aloud and listening to someone read aloud accesses a type of learning that is different than silently reading to yourself. We have kids who grew up in our congregation, listening to the Torah being read while they were playing with Legos on the floor or coloring in coloring books and who "suddenly" began speaking huge amounts of scripture in conversation because they'd heard it being read for the past ten years. They've learned that the adults in their lives truly value the word of God and make it important enough to read and honor each Shabbat.

Why am I saying this? Why should you care?

Because I think it's just as proper to read the Torah out loud in a church as it is in a synagogue. I believe that everyone should have access to the Bible, not this group or that. I believe that it's just as important for a dirt farmer in rural Idaho to be able to read and study the Bible as it is for teachers, sages, and scholars.

If you can't make the Bible accessible to even a little child and let him or her learn and understand the stories of how people relate to God, then what good is it?

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” -Matthew 19:13-14

Sorry, but I get tired of hearing how only post-graduate students, people whose names begin with "doctor", or other ivory tower denizens are the only ones who can tell you what the Bible "really means", and the only ones who can give you access to God. Yes, I value education (I've got three university degrees myself) and I enjoy and appreciate good, well researched, and scholarly commentaries. I just don't think those commentaries and the people studying them should limit access to the Bible for "the rest of us".

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. -Proverbs 3:18

"A Jew never gives up. We're here to bring Mashiach, we will settle for nothing less." -Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh