Some of them can be seen, maybe<\/p>\n
Even touched; the subtle pattern<\/p>\n
Of their stroked bodies, sculpted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Others cannot be seen; definitely<\/p>\n
Not touched, but they can be heard;<\/p>\n
Their music a song older than time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Either way, it\u2019s not so much whether<\/p>\n
They can be touched or not, as much as:<\/p>\n
Whether or not we allow them to touch us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Words\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cold words, heated words,<\/p>\n
Forewords, backwards\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wordsmiths twist and shout their<\/p>\n
Materials into countless combinations,<\/p>\n
Endless paragraphs and long-term<\/p>\n
Sentences<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The written word, the spoken word,<\/p>\n
The way word<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But what is its soul; in a word,<\/p>\n
What is its purpose?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Let us review; let us open the fifth book,<\/p>\n
The book of explanation, and let us learn\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These are the words\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We have journeyed long, four books and<\/p>\n
Infinite possibilities worth, from the creation<\/p>\n
Of the universe to the realization of its purpose<\/p>\n
And the threshold of fulfilling it \u2013 at the border of<\/p>\n
The Promised Land.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here we are, today, beginning a new book,<\/p>\n
A new journey \u2013 a new definition.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But what is this book, titled Words?<\/p>\n
What does it review; what does it explain?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How can the Torah, a piece of the Divine,<\/p>\n
A reflection of peace, unity and truth, ever<\/p>\n
Exist in a physical world of fragmentation,<\/p>\n
False pretenses, and great divides?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How can two people, opposites, relate?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It is what we call communication, expression:<\/p>\n
The ability to take words, simple, black curves<\/p>\n
And lines, and form them into ideas and emotions,<\/p>\n
Bridges that allow us to go from one reality to<\/p>\n
Another.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But there are two ways to communicate:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1: Relating words in a 3rd person narrative,<\/p>\n
As a messenger, relaying a message without<\/p>\n
Actually becoming it: relaying profundity<\/p>\n
Without necessarily becoming profound<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2: Relating, and relating to, words in a 1st person<\/p>\n
Experience, taking the message and making it a<\/p>\n
Part of you so that you can make it a part of others.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These are the words
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
That Moshe spoke
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
To all Israel<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The 5th book in the 1st person:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Before the fifth book, the Torah wasn\u2019t reviewed,<\/p>\n
Taught, it wasn\u2019t articulated by man, it<\/p>\n
Just was: divine, holy, pure. The first four<\/p>\n
Books related and relate to a people who<\/p>\n
Aren\u2019t really challenged to be themselves<\/p>\n
For they haven\u2019t really experienced others:<\/p>\n
They live in a desert where all\u2019s given to them\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And when all is given without work or effort,<\/p>\n
One mustn\u2019t work too hard to make the Torah<\/p>\n
Theirs, a part of their reality \u2013 after all,<\/p>\n
It already is.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But now it\u2019s time to enter a new reality, where<\/p>\n
Man has to earn his dough and work for his bread\u2026<\/p>\n
And for this the Torah must be articulated in the<\/p>\n
1st person, Moshe: the Torah must be made ours,<\/p>\n
The words must come alive, alive not just in our minds<\/p>\n
And hearts but also in our smallest and most subtle<\/p>\n
Actions \u2013 the words must permeate our being like<\/p>\n
The air we breathe and the flame we burn.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Looking in Words, not just viewing but also reviewing them,<\/p>\n
Learning them, teaching them, becoming them \u2013<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
May the Torah not be (only) a third-person narration<\/p>\n
But (also) a first-person experience.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Looking In Words \u2013<\/p>\n
The ability to read, speak, live divine.<\/p>\n