Torah Scroll Story

‌How Brit’ Hadasha got our new Torah Scroll

‌Baruch HaShem! We are greatly blessed to be able to house a new Torah Scroll! What an honor and privilege it is for us to be able to have the word of HaShem as preserved in the way of the ancient Yisrael with us. It is not very common for Messianic Jewish congregations to be able to have an authentic kosher Torah Scroll and the acquisition of this one was definitely the providence of Hashem. It may surprise some to know that in this day of online shopping and speedy delivery that Torah Scrolls are not that easy to come by. When one does a search on line they may find many replicas or they may find many very old scrolls at very high prices. Even after a search the Sofer or the Torah Scribe may not want to sell the Scroll to congregations of other Branches of Judaism. Then there is the detail of transporting the scroll and delivery. Due to the value of a Torah Scroll the insurance for transporting is much more expensive than even the delivery fees. As well do we really want to trust the handling of such a sacred thing to the people that are also handling dog food, shoes and all other manner of items.

So with that said the story of how we came by this scroll reveals HaShem’s providence for us. When the decision was made by the elders, after much prayerful seeking of HaShem, a committee was formed for the task of finding, acquiring and presenting a New Torah Scroll. This committee was comprised of Trey Campbell, John Matthew, Sherry Landry, Arlo Gibbs, and myself. We each reached out to different local congregations and organizations that we where aware of to see about how to go about acquiring a scroll. We did not receive many responses. I remembered a long time and dear friend of mine who had once told me that he had a friend in Florida who had a contact with a Local Rabbi who also dealt in Torah Scrolls. So it decided to see if we could go that route.

It turns out at the same time as we are doing this work, Rabbi Michael Schiffman was returning back from Yisrael with a Torah Scroll that his Rabbi Yitzak had provided him and told him to bring back that he needed to sell it. When I called Rabbi Schiffman to see if he had a scroll available, he told me he was looking at the scroll and appreciating the beauty and quality of the writing, yet also wondering to himself who he was going to sell this scroll too, as he already had 5 other scrolls and no prospective congregations looking for one. Then his phone rang. After I introduced myself and told him who I was representing, and why I was calling, he immediately said, “I have just the scroll for you, I am looking at it right now.” We spoke for a little bit and he sent pictures of the scroll. We discussed it as a committee and agreed this was the scroll we wanted to get. I emailed Rabbi Schiffman back so I could get the pricing and to get some other references from him. When he shared the price, it was almost half what we were expecting it to be. I asked if it was damaged or why the price was so low and he responded back with “I remember Gary Shansky and I miss him very much.” Though I did mention what congregation I represented and I never told him anything else about us. Turns out that Rabbi Schiffman and Rabbi Shansky both attended many conferences together over the years. The references that Rabbi Schiffman provided where very impressive as they are the heads of the UMJC and many of the forerunners in Messianic Judaism in America. Yet his 2 best references where here among us with Ms. Chris Shansky and Dr. Allen Raich who both know him. My wife and I had the privilege to go and meet Rabbi Schiffman and his wife in their home in Cape Coral Florida. We spent almost 3 hours with them and would have gladly spent much more time had we been able to. There is no coincidences in life and there is no happenstance, everything is being orchestrated by HaShem. This is never more obvious to me than when the timing of things works out as well as it did for this Torah Scroll.

So why even go through this effort? A Torah Scroll is nice and all but in this day of technology we could have a scan of any Torah Scroll and the words recorded and we would never have to worry about it being damaged. Is the Torah Scroll anything more than just an ornament? What is so significant about having an authentic Kosher Torah Scroll?

Timing is important and reveals the hand of HaShem. As all this is going on with the synagogue acquiring the new Scroll, in our personal life, my wife was blessed with receiving a true treasure in the old love letters between her mother and father when he was at boot camp. The letters contain their messages of love between newly weds, how excited they are to be parents and one can read them and see the love that existed. Devon was told about the letters and she could have received some scanned documents or someone could even transpose the letters, yet none of that would be the same. How special is it that she can see the love of her parents for each other and for her in their own hand writing and with their own words, on paper they selected in ink they wanted to use.

The Torah is HaShem’s love letter to us. It tells us how to love him, how to love each other, and how he loves us. It is the introduction to the eventual manifestation of Yeshua for the ultimate display of love. So because of this we honor the Torah and revere it not because we worship the Torah but because it is the word of the one we worship, HaShem. Here are a few verses that may help us understand the significance of the Torah and the reverence for HaShem’s word.

Isaiah 42:21 “Adonai was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness, to make Torah great and glorious.”

In whom was HaShem’s righteousness most evident, Yeshua. So for the sake of Yeshua Adonai made the Torah great and glorious.

Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Adonai. I will put My Torah into their mind, and upon their hearts I will write it. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

‌This is the Torah that is put in to our minds and written on our hearts. Not a different one and not a separate one and not one we write.

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

What is the word of HaShem? The Torah. What word became flesh? What was the name of the flesh? Yeshua

We know who Yeshua is because Moshe wrote about him in the Torah. We know how to live as our Rabbi Yeshua lived because we have the Torah. We know what Yeshua taught because he taught the Torah.

I want to leave you with exhortation from King David a man after HaShem’s own heart to the Kedoshim.

Psalm 37:27-31 “Turn from evil and do good, so you may live forever. For Adonai loves justice and does not abandon His godly ones. They will be preserved forever, but the seed of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom and his tongue speaks justice. The Torah of his G-d is in his heart. His steps do not slip.”