Special Simchat Torah Reading;  Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12 and Genesis 1:1-2:3

Rabbi Simcha Bunim used to walk around with two pieces of paper in each pocket.  In the left pocket, the piece of paper said, "You are dust and ashes."  In his right pocket, the other piece of paper said, "For your sake was the world entire created."  Rabbi Bunim advised his students to read the paper in the left pocket when they were feeling cocky or arrogant, and to read the other paper when they were feeling low and unworthy.  This delicate balancing act helped Rabbi Bunim and his students live each day with both a sense of purpose and humility--not an easy balance to achieve, but one I think we can all aspire to.

Simchat Torah, in a sense, teaches the same lesson as these two pieces of paper in Rabbi Bunim's pocket.  We finish reading the Torah, read all about the death of Moses and his importance to us as a people; in the next breath we read about the beginning, the creation of the World.  We are dust and ashes; for our sake the world entire was created.  As we celebrate this holiday  of "Joy," Simchah, for the Torah, maybe we can all reach a place of balance in our souls, as well--feeling a sense of purpose, coming together to celebrate as a community, and remembering that we always stand in God's presence, filled with humility at the grandeur of our tradition and our Torah.

For more insight on this week's torah portion and the holiday of Simchat Torah, visit urj.org/torah.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sukkot Sameach,
Rabbi Annie