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52 she'asani kirtzono

Bracha #31

Praised are You O lord our God, Who rules the universe, giving us the Torah of truth, planting within us eternal life. Praised are You O lord, who gives the Torah.

Barukh at adonai eloheinu melekh haolam asher natan lanu torat emet, v'chayei olam nata betocheinu, barukh ata adonai noten hatorah

This is the second bracha that is said upon being called to the Torah. The message is one of agreement. The Torah reader reads a section from the Torah publicly, we then touch the text and embrace it both literally and figuratively. We affirm our commitment to those words and their significance. We make the statement to congregation that we are dedicated to a life of Torah and we confirm for ourselves its undying value.

This bracha is magnificent both in its tone and but in its detail as well. A quick read provides the one who recites it with inspiration while a study of its particulars gives the one who recites it a deeper sense of its potential impact. Both the concept behind this bracha and the individual words employed to engender that emotion are powerful.

The bracha in its theme teaches that a person through attachment to a lifestyle in line with the prescriptions of the Torah will place that individual within a history and a people that has and will live on longer than that person's time on this earth. If we observe the commandments found within the Torah and we take the messages of our holy scripture to heart, then we connect ourselves to a tradition that has survived time and enemy. Though we are mortal and live for only a limited time, values and life lessons live forever. Though our bodies may exist for a number of years a legacy can live long after we have passed on.

Though many of the words found within the bracha are familiar, one phrase is particularly. The phrase nata betocheinu, translated as "planted within us," has a significant message. This idea suggests that the seeds for living a life in accordance with God's will is found within the package of the Torah but they cannot grow into life without being planted. It is when they are sown into our lives that they germinate. The potential for a life filled with meaning and spirituality lives within each of us, it simply needs to be take root and spout. We must be the ones to nurture its growth. We must learn and we must take seriously the discipline found in a life in concert with the values of Judaism.

New Jersey Region United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
PO Box 390; 1025 St. Georges Ave
Linden, NJ 07036-0390
Phone: 908-925-USCJ (8725) / Fax: 908-486-USCJ (8725)
E-mail: njersey@uscj.org
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Last Updated: July 2003