Family Parshah
Vayelech Q & A

So now, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the Children of Israel. (31:19)

Question: This verse contains the 613th commandment of the Torah -- the precept of writing a Torah Scroll.

Maimonides1 writes: "It is a commandment for every Jew to write a Torah scroll for himself, as the verse states, 'So now write this song for yourself,' which actually means 'So now write a Torah scroll, which includes this song, for yourself.' Even one who inherits a Torah scroll is obligated to write his own."

What lessons can be derived from the letters of a Torah scroll?

Answer: Jewish law requires that in a Torah scroll every letter must be "surrounded by parchment."2 Therefore, the scribe must take heed that no letter touch another one. On the other hand, the law also requires that the letters which comprise a word must be placed close enough to each other so that they do not appear as individual letters and not part of a word. From these two laws we can derive a lesson of great importance regarding the Jewish people collectively and individually.

Firstly, it is imperative that every Jew stand on his own two feet and observe the Torah and its precepts. No Jew should "lean" on another and rely on him. The Torah is the inheritance of every Jew, and everyone is obligated to observe and maintain it.

Although every Jew must be independent in his observance of Torah, there is at the same time the principle of responsibility one for the other. One Jew should stand immediately alongside the other and be very close to him, to the extent that they appear as one collective body and not as egotistical individuals.

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Another lesson to be learned from a Torah scroll is that a Torah consists of many letters. Although each one stands independently, the validity of the Torah scroll is dependent on all the letters together. The lack or incompleteness of even one single letter affects the validity of the entire scroll. Analogously, each and every Jew is an essential component of the entire nation of Israel, upon whom the wholeness of the Jewish people depends.

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A Torah scroll is written with ink, and the only acceptable color is deep black. The following lessons can be derived from the ink:

While all colors can easily be combined one with another to form new colors, black is extremely difficult to change. Similarly, a Jew should not permit the influence of society or the vagaries of life to undermine or dilute his true "color" and to follow the correct path.

The ink must stick firmly to the parchment, and, if it "jumps off," i.e. becomes detached, the Torah scroll is disqualified. The implied lesson is that the Jew should adhere to the Torah and never become detached from it.

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In 5742 the Lubavitcher Rebbe embarked on a campaign for Torah scrolls to be written so that every Jew in the world should acquire a letter in a communal Torah. The intent of this was to unite the Jewish nation through Torah.

Through this campaign the Rebbe was eager to accomplish that which is written in the Book of Daniel (12:1) that in a time of travel, everyone who is "found written in the book" will be able to escape.

Children could sign up for their own letter in a Torah scroll by clicking here