A Wedding Amidst Rockets

"I love your Word, O Lord!" -- so says the Psalmist expressing his heart felt devotion to the words of the Torah given to the people of Israel by the God of Israel. The Torah is celebrated by the Jewish people in every community around the world. The scroll is even housed in a specially built cabinet laid to rest in a prominent place in the synagogue.

To dedicate a new Torah scroll in a community synagogue is another opportunity to celebrate in the streets. Through the years of living in Jerusalem, I have seen these boistrous celebrations in our own neighbhorhood, and they resemble a Jewish wedding reception. The synagogue committee sends out an invitation to the neighbhorhood inviting them to participate in the celebration, posting it at the local grocery stores. Then, a couple of hours prior to the ceremony, a small car with a loud speaker makes his way through the narrow streets announcing the time and place. The crowds gather. The residents - young and old - link arm in arm and begin their celebrative Israeli line dance up the street behind the car with the loud speaker as the preceed the newly devoted Torah scroll, leading the way to its new home in local the Synagogue.

A table of refreshments has been laid for the guests, and for the next 2 hours, the ear piercing music and dancing in the streets continues . . . inviting the neighbhors to celebrate their new Torah scroll. It is awesome to watch and to see a people so appreciate the words of God in such a manner.

I was particularly amazed last week, that, in the midst of the rockets falling on S'derot close to the border of northern Gaza, a "wedding" ceremony of the Torah dedication took place.

It was an "in your face" celebration by this battered community. After 1,000 S'derot citizens had evacuated earlier that day, a small contingent of remaining brave and faith-filled citizens, who themselves had been experiencing a barrage of 100 rockets within 3 days, paraded through their pockholed streets -- with their new Torah scroll! They danced, they kissed and hugged the Torah, they sang, they celebrated with great exuberance.

The community of S'derot under attack determined to celebrate their Torah "wedding" anyway, and sang loudly, danced wildly and declared to God, to the world, and to their attacking neighbhors in this act: "I love Your Word, O Lord!"

As they were leaving the synagogue around 11:00 pm, Hamas responded intentionally by sending another volley of rockets, hitting the synagogue directly. A few were injured and treated for shock.

At the writing of this, there is no let up of the attacks on S'derot. But, the newly placed Torah scroll reminds the worshipers of this declaration of God through the ancient Pslamist who also encountered enemy attacks:

“But You, O LORD, shall laugh at them; You shall have all the nations in derision. I will wait for You, O You my Strength; for God is my defense. My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies” (Psalm 59:8–10).