what Torah Means... to Paul Pomerantz

Counting the Omer Day 29

I don't know what has preserved our little tribe for all these millennia but I often think about it. We each come to our conclusions based on our own exposure and life experiences. Mine were formed early at a cheder in Canarsie where I was taught by an orthodox young man (although at the time I thought he was old, beard and kippah). He had a certain energy and a way of relating to the to the young street wise Brooklyn youth (all male of course) that now would be called "cool."

He taught us Gemara and made it seem interesting but he also let us flip and trade our "holy" baseball cards before class, even starting late if we were at a crucial point in the negotiations. On occasion he would participate in the card flipping as well. That started me on a path of involvement in my Judaism that then waxed and waned over the ensuing decades (coming of age, rebellion, agnostic) and finally arriving at this place (spiritually). This is a long prologue to answer the query but I think you get my drift. First, I think about the survival of the Jewish people and then I wonder about the purpose, assuming there is meaning. I've come to believe that we do represent something more than just a random collection of genetic material and that while I'm uncertain about the "grand plan" I think there is meaning. As such there is a requirement for some coherence, a blueprint if you will, thus the Torah. Many have already stated the qualities of our Torah as an historical recounting of our peoples beginnings. The ethical and moral underpinnings of a civilized and just society are paramount in its importance. The fact that it is a scroll, labored over and revered as a seminal document but not worshipped -though respected- adds to the wonder. As the scribe was careful to instruct it's not a book. I think the message is that it transcends the physical and serves as a spiritual representation of the Jewish people. The "book" that's not a book contains the code by which we all should live and thus validates the existence of our "little tribe."