The Bible’s in Our Bones

Several years ago I ran across a story about Temple Emanuel in New York.  The congregation had commissioned a new Torah scroll, and the leaders had decided to make it something that everyone could participate in.  Rather than isolate the scribe in his studio, however, synagogue officials invited people to put their hand on the scribe’s shoulder as he carefully put quill to vellum to create the Hebrew letters.

To no one’s surprise but that of the scribe, this turned out to be a deeply moving experience, and many of the participants burst into tears.  Naturally this irritated the scribe to no end, until he finally realized what was happening.  For him the creation of a Torah scroll was both a sacred ritual and a job.  But for first-time observers this was the awesome realization that in one brief moment they were helping to create…