The Jewish People’s Undying Connection to the Land of Israel
6 min read
The sounds of Shabbat morning prayers echo through two distant synagogues. In one, a Moroccan congregation sways to the rise and fall of the cantor’s ancient North African melodies, responding with traditional calls of encouragement. In another, Chassidim with black coats and long side-locks rock vigorously, led by their holy Rebbe.
The customs, the dress, the very atmosphere – everything seems worlds apart. Yet in both sanctuaries, they read from a Torah scroll that is letter-for-letter identical to its counterpart across the world. This remarkable paradox – perfect textual uniformity across 3,500 years alongside vibrant diversity in its expression – hints at a profound truth contained in the Torah's final mitzvah.
In this week’s Torah portion, God commands: "Write for yourselves this song and teach it to the children of Israel" (Deuteronomy 31:19). Our Sages teach that this verse comprises the 613th mitzvah: every Jew must write his own Torah scroll.1 This interpretation leaves us with a number of questions:
The answers to these puzzling questions lie in understanding Torah's most fundamental characteristic.
In his landmark work on Jewish law2, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein explains that God likens Torah to a song because both achieve their fullest expression through harmony. In a harmony, distinct voices coalesce into a flowing fullness of sound. If any voice is missing, the song loses dimension and depth. The more variety, the more beauty.
This explanation challenges our assumptions. The Torah's text and laws remain completely uniform! Wouldn't an unchanging text demand conformity, with everyone thinking and serving God identically?
The Zohar teaches that, at the Revelation at Mount Sinai, God presented a unique facet of Torah to all six hundred thousand souls present. This revelation affected not just those physically present, but the souls of all Jews throughout time.3 Each soul got a portion in Torah completely unique to him—one that only he can bring out into the world.4
Through years of study, I've experienced this firsthand. As my understanding deepens, I find myself uncovering subtle nuances and fresh perspectives that add new dimensions to familiar texts. Each insight feels like illuminating another facet of an already brilliant diamond, revealing more of God’s light into the world. This weekly series of essays represents my own journey of discovering and sharing my portion in Torah - a collection of insights that, God willing, will inspire others to reach new insights of their own.
But these personal discoveries point to something far deeper. The Zohar teaches, "God looked into the Torah and created the world. Man looks into Torah and sustains the world."5 Torah isn't merely a book of laws and lessons, or even just a means to connect with God – it both forms and sustains the very fabric of existence. When we actualize our unique portion in Torah through learning, teaching, and living it, we become co-creators in existence itself.
This gives new meaning to our daily prayer, "Give us our portion in Your Torah - ותן ×—×œ×§× ×• בתורתך" We ask not just for understanding, but for the power to become a co-creator in God’s universe. Just as a Torah scroll becomes invalid without any letter, the world remains incomplete without each person's distinctive expression of Torah.
Perhaps the greatest symbolic act of acquiring your portion in Torah comes from fulfilling the very mitzvah we've been exploring—writing a Sefer Torah, a Torah scroll. The Ktav Sofer,6 along with the Sefer HaChinuch,7 explain that writing our own scroll, rather than relying on inheritance, represents our commitment to forge a personal relationship with God and His Torah.
Writing a Torah scroll serves as the perfect culmination of all 613 mitzvot because it encapsulates Torah's ultimate purpose: providing an unchanging foundation through which each person discovers and expresses their unique spiritual identity. The scroll remains constant letter by letter, yet becomes new again through each person who engages with it, writes it, lives it, and shares their distinctive understanding with others.
To bring this idea home, the Talmud8 states that one who writes a Torah scroll is as if he received it at Mount Sinai. Just as each soul at Sinai received its unique portion in Torah, through writing our personal Torah scroll, we recreate our direct revelation. We don't just copy words – we claim our spiritual inheritance and manifest our distinctive role in Torah's eternal symphony.9
While we can fulfill the mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll by commissioning a scribe, writing a single letter, or buying Torah books, we must also pursue our most elevated mission: discovering our personal portion in Torah. This journey begins with learning Torah deeply, engaging with its unchanging text and timeless principles. Through this process, we gradually uncover our unique portion—that special understanding only we can contribute. Finally, as the verse concludes, we must "teach it to the children of Israel," enriching the collective harmony with our individual voice.
I’d like to offer a few practical ideas to begin uncovering your unique portion in Torah:
Like a grand symphony where each instrument plays its unique part while contributing to a harmonious whole, Torah enables us to express our individuality while remaining rooted in sacred tradition. The text never changes, but its music constantly evolves through the unique harmony of every Jew in every generation.
May we all be blessed to find our unique portion in Torah, partnering with God in the revelation of His infinite light into our world.
Shabbat Shalom!
Avraham
