NAGEELA LV

Of Turkeys, Torahs and Personal Reflection

 

I had the privilege today to fix not one, but two separate Torah scrolls in two synagogues here in Las Vegas. It's pretty cool taking a rolled up bunch of parchment, and transforming it into something special. Something people stand up for, hurry to kiss, and dance exuberantly while holding.

 

What hit me even more poignantly is the extreme and stark contrast.

 

Both Torah scrolls were missing an extremely tiny bit of ink. It took only a few seconds to repair with my home carved turkey feather quill (kids, don't try this at home), transforming them in seconds.

 

This is what Rosh Hashana is all about. We examine our past year with great scrutiny. Hopefully, we won't find any truly massive flaws. It's the tiny flaw that separates who we are fromwho we want to be. Sometimes it's an incredibly tiny fix, a dot of ink that transforms us into that walking Torah scroll. The symbol of goodness that deserves to be stood for, adored, and even danced with.

 

The great sages of Mussar would propose that commitment to studying the topics of self0 improvement daily is that drop of ink. It can be the catalyst to change us into genuinely great people.

 

You don't need a turkey feather, just an amazon account. Get a Mussar book. Ask a Rabbi to help you study it, or find a preexisting Mussar class (the Kollel offers several). And may you be written in the scroll of life.