In the Book of Exodus, the ancient Israelites built an ark, and a tabernacle to carry the commandments wherever they went. Having been rescued from slavery the Hebrews would wander in the wilderness for a long time. The Rabbis tell us this was the beginning of the mobile Jewish tradition. Despite the relatively short times when the Temple existed, for most of its history Jews have carried the Torah with them wherever they went.
The word Torah means teaching. It is the teaching of God concerning how to live a life well lived. The Torah can be understood narrowly as the ten commandments and more broadly as the entire Tanach (Hebrew Bible), and even more broadly as including the Talmud (a 72 book Rabbinic multi-generational commentary on the Tanach.) Torah can also include the word midrash which refers to stories or commentaries which make explicit what is implicit in the Biblical text.
In Jewish tradition studying Torah is a holy activity. As the old cliché declares, “When I pray, I talk to God. When I study God talks to me.”
But the old Rabbis add another role for the purpose of the Torah. They say, “when Jews went through the hardships and terrors of their history; when they felt alone and abandoned, when they were being murdered day in and day out, when they had no energy to carry the Torah, the Torah carried them.”
What does that mean? Our religious traditions assure us that whatever we are going through, wherever we are, we are accompanied, carried and given strength to meet the day. I am not sure this is true, but I like the notion that sometimes when we have our doubts and irreligiosity, reject our tradition, yet we are accompanied. It is even said the letters of the Torah are watching over us day and night to keep us sane.
So, as you go through what you are going through, think, it may be possible you are not alone.
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