Today I was struck again by the timeliness of Torah. So many times when I ponder an event in the news, my life or a friend’s life, a verse of Torah comes to mind. Issues of the day (like the horrific situation in the Sudan – see post after this one) have resonance, responses or reference in the texts of Jewish life and living.

The philosopher, scholar and sage Bachiya Ibn Pakudah once wrote “Days are scrolls, write on them what you want to be remembered.” Every day I try to fill my scroll with productivity, positivity, G-d, Torah and Israel. Some days I succeed more than others.

On a larger scale, the sefer Torah (scroll onto which the first 5 books of the bible are handwritten in the same manner as has been done for about 2,300 years) is a personal history, ethics, theology and psychology scroll for each of us. We “turn it and turn it for everything is in it” (ala Rabbi Ben Bag Bag) and in it we find our lives.

All of this is my rambling way of saying that I hope you are able to find connections between our sacred literature and your life.

May we find inspiration, hope and comfort in our personal and communal scrolls!