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Weekly Words of Torah Goes PC (Parashah and Chesed) – Parashat Vayeilech 5780

To inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, Executive Director, Women’s League For Conservative Judaism

This week’s Torah Reading, Parashat Vayeilech, discusses the following: End of Moses’ leadership; Joshua resumed leadership; the commandment of the unity of Israel. The final mitzvah given in the Torah is found in Parashat Veyeilech, “Now you have to write this Song, the Torah, and teach it to the future generations of the Children of Israel, so it will be for an everlasting testimony.” (Deuteronomy 31:19) The obligation of this commandment is that each person is to write a Torah scroll, a Sefer Torah, his or herself. Those who do not know how to, can hire a scribe, a sofer, to write one, or help others, monetarily, in writing a Sefer Torah.

It is a mitzvah to write a Torah – one must dispose of holy writings in a certain way, as well. For a Chesed idea related to Parashat Veyeilech, find out what your synagogue or sisterhood does to dispose of their sacred items, such as papers with God’s Hebrew name on it, old Tallitot that are no longer able to be worn, old Tefillin, old Sefrei Kodeh, holy books. A genizah is a storage area in a Jewish synagogue or cemetery designated for the temporary storage of worn-out Hebrew-language books and papers on religious topics prior to proper cemetery burial. Help organize a genizah if one does not exist, and then help with the proper cemetery burial of the genizah.

Weekly Words of Torah is a brief paragraph prepared weekly by our Executive Director, Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, presented in our “This Week @ Women’s League.” WWOT will provide meaningful thoughts related to the Weekly Torah Portion, an event on the Calendar, a Prayer, or something of Jewish interest, to inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women. If you have any particular interest in future topics, or want to send Rabbi Wolintz-Fields an email, you can contact her at ewolintz-fields@wlcj.org. Read previous Weekly Words of Torah here, and stay up-to-date with the latest WWOT theme, Chesed, here.