The Sefer Torah is referred to by the Torah as “The Testimony.” Rashi explains that it serves as a testimony between G-d and the Jewish people that He commanded them the laws therein.
How does the Sefer Torah testify to its own authenticity? The answer is simple: To the Jew it bears real testimony. When we merely gaze upon the Sefer Torah, it touches something within us powerfully. It is as if the millions of people who actually witnessed that fateful day at Mount Sinai thousands of years ago were to come and offer sworn testimony of its authenticity. It penetrates the Jewish heart with unparalleled confidence in the truth of its eternal message.
This is the power of the Sefer Torah and the extent of its influence upon us. Throughout the ages, its mere presence has inspired and strengthened the Jew as a writ¬ten testimony that G-d Himself has commanded him the Mitzvos. It has inspired him to limitless spirituality and helped overcome the most insurmountable difficulties.
The Torah instructs every Jewish man to write a Sefer Torah. If he cannot write one, he must have one written for him or at least purchase a Torah. Tradi¬tionally, everyone is given the opportunity to fulfill this great mitzvah when a Torah is dedicated to a community institution, either by finishing a letter or word or by purchasing the same.
Interestingly, the Halacha indicates that even if one has inherited a Sefer Torah from his father, he is nonetheless obligated to write another Torah himself. Imagine a person inheriting a Torah from his father. Imagine that this Torah was a family heirloom, passed down from father to son for many generations. With it, this person inherits the knowledge that his ancestors believed in these same truths that he is living today. Could any Sefer Torah bear a more powerful message of authenticity?
Yet, the Torah, in its infinite wisdom, tells us that even under such circumstances, the greatest effect will only come to this person when he personally writes one for himself. When the Jew writes or pur¬chases a part of the Torah himself, his personal involvement expands the ability of its testimony to affect him.
The Torah is read in public every Shabbos, Monday and Thursday, so as not to allow three days to pass without hearing its words. The Talmud tells us that we derive this practice from an incident that took place just as the Jewish people left Egypt. After having seen the greatest of miracles in Egypt and the Red Sea, three days passed and they found no water to drink. These great people, who had achieved such spiritual heights through the miracles they had witnessed, began to complain to Moshe about the lack of water. For people of their stature this was considered im-proper.
The Rabbis indicate that the cause of their improper action was that for those three days they were without Torah study (which is compared to water). Therefore, the Rabbis instituted that the Torah should be publicly read on Shabbos, Monday and Thursday so that three consecutive days never pass without hearing its words.
The people who witnessed the greatest revela¬tions of all times and whose belief was so complete, were not strong enough to withstand the effects of three days without Torah. A fixed schedule had to be established to constantly reinforce its lessons. We see that the few lines that we read from the Torah every week seem to carry more meaning than even experiencing the greatest miracles.
The words of Torah that we hear and study call out to us with the message of Sinai and sustain in us an unswerving loyalty to our Creator. The words of the Sefer Torah can reach the Jewish heart in a way that nothing else can.
REACHING THE NEXT GENERATION
