The sigh of relief when we finish a giant project is often the best feeling of the experience. Yet, when we finish the annual reading of the Torah, the most exciting part is what is yet to be.
The last word of the Torah is Yisrael. We evolved from individuals placed on this earth into a sacred people, tilling God’s garden and fixing the world.
The first word of the Torah is Bereshit. Each year as a people we begin again. Our Rabbis teach kol hatchalot kashot, all beginnings are difficult.
Once we have started, it is much easier to proceed. But simply starting is the most difficult part itself.
It is difficult to imagine celebrating Simchat Torah without holding hands, kissing Torahs, and dancing the hora. It is much easier to skip the beginning.
Kol hatchalot kashot. It is much more difficult to turn on YouTube Sunday morning and celebrate, mark the moment where we have once again finished the Torah, and will once again start over. There is no better time to start over than now. Let this restart of our Torah be a restart for our lives at this moment. What did we skip over this past year that we wish we would have started last year? Let’s race to the starting line…it’s time to begin again!
