{"id":615,"date":"2013-02-16T23:06:21","date_gmt":"2013-02-17T03:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2013-02-16T23:06:21","modified_gmt":"2013-02-17T03:06:21","slug":"i-will-lift-you-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/?p=615","title":{"rendered":"I Will Lift You Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people,
\nfor he was above all the people; as he opened it,
\nall the people stood up (Nehemiah 8:5).<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Note the \u201che,\u201d please.\u00a0 That\u2019s how most folks imagine the ritual of hagbah<\/em><\/a>, lifting the Torah.\u00a0 It\u2019s a guy thing, based on a guy story in a mostly guy text.<\/p>\n

The first (and only) time I saw a woman perform hagbah, I wanted \u2013 immediately and badly \u2013 to lift a Torah scroll myself.\u00a0 Lori, after all, was just about my size (very small).\u00a0 If she could do it, I thought, so could I.<\/p>\n

Every year, I vowed to do the weight training, strengthen my skinny arms, and lift the Torah.\u00a0 Every year I\u2019d fail to do the training, regret my lack of time and commitment, and renew the vow.<\/p>\n

Four years passed.\u00a0 By that time, I\u2019d been diagnosed with osteopenia.\u00a0 I\u2019d been given the wake-up call: Do weight-bearing exercise, take your calcium and magnesium daily, and protect those aging bones.<\/p>\n

During those same years, our son, Erik, had been increasingly devoting his exercise regimen to strength training.\u00a0 When I bemoaned my failure to get with any program, he created one specially designed for me (and for hagbah).\u00a0 I need only do four specific exercises two times a week at the gym, increase reps and\/or weight as I go and, Erik promised me, I would do hagbah within two months.<\/p>\n

I was devoted to the cause.\u00a0 I reported on my progress to my twenty-one year old personal trainer.\u00a0 The ten pounds I could barely move became twenty, thirty, and thirty-five after eight weeks of training.\u00a0 I was pulling up forty percent of my body weight and<\/em> <\/em>it was the time of year when the Torah scroll was near center and relatively balanced on both posts.\u00a0 I was ready to give it a try.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeak,\u201d my husband Ralf pronounced, as my arms shook.<\/p>\n

\u201cWobbly,\u201d I agreed.<\/p>\n

Hagbah, Ashkenazi style, demands that the congregation see three full columns of Torah.\u00a0 The scroll has to be held high and turned so that everyone in the congregation can see it.\u00a0 Drop the Torah, and everyone present is required to fast during the day for 40 days.<\/p>\n

Hagbah is serious business.<\/p>\n

I wrote my senior thesis for ordination on hagbah.\u00a0 My teshuva, a response to a halakhic<\/a> question, began with a true story:<\/p>\n

A small community has gathered for a Shabbat service.\u00a0 This morning, the rabbi looks around and notes who is in the room.\u00a0 She knows everyone present \u2013 who has back problems and who is in ill health, who is mourning, and who is anticipating a life cycle event.\u00a0 This morning, she sees that not a single Jewish person is present who could take on the mitzvah of hagbah.<\/p>\n

There is one man in the room who would certainly do so, if she asked.\u00a0 He is married to a Jewish woman and has raised both his children Jewishly.\u00a0 He has lived Jewishly for two decades.\u00a0 He attends services regularly, prays alongside his Jewish friends and family, and supports the small congregation wholeheartedly.\u00a0 He happens to be one of the most morally upstanding members of the congregation, and the rabbi has long appreciated his ethical sensibilities and calm nature.<\/p>\n

Can that man perform the mitzvah of hagbah?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a long teshuva, I admit.\u00a0 I wandered through plenty of ancient history and lots of rabbinic writing.\u00a0 In the end, my answer was that halakha permitted the non-Jew to raise the Torah.<\/p>\n

The fellow in the story has long since joined the tribe officially.\u00a0 He is one of our regulars where hagbah is concerned, and his way of lifting the scroll is extraordinarily beautiful.\u00a0 He turns with confidence, the scroll held securely and firmly overhead.<\/p>\n

Before services last night, I approached him as he and his wife were setting up for oneg.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve,\u201d I said, \u201cI need help with hagbah.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gestured to his clothing.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t really dress for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell actually,\u201d I said, \u201cI need you to be right there when I<\/em> do it so if I lose the Torah you can catch it!\u00a0 But it\u2019s a secret,\u201d I said quickly.\u00a0 \u201cI want to surprise everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re<\/em> going to do it?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I feel I can, I will try,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Before hagbah, I told my congregation about the way I teach this portion of the service to our bar- and bat-mitzvah students.\u00a0 I let them know that the one prayer they can sing with a leetle more speed at their service is the one we sing when the Torah is raised (v\u2019zot).\u00a0 \u201cBe kind to the person doing hagbah,\u201d I say, “and don\u2019t chant too slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked my congregation to be bar- and bat-mitzvah students that night.\u00a0 \u201cStand,\u201d I said, \u201cwhen the Torah is raised and feel free to sing that prayer at a nice pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

I saw a long-standing member whisper to our temple administrator.\u00a0 Both women knew about my goal.\u00a0 I could practically hear the question: \u201cIs she going to try it?\u201d<\/p>\n

I gripped the posts.\u00a0 I told myself that my earlier attempt that same afternoon was mere rehearsal.\u00a0 This was for real.\u00a0 I needed to brace myself and be tough.\u00a0 \u201cI will lift you up,\u201d I thought to myself.<\/p>\n

I wanted everyone to see that a woman could be strong enough for hagbah.\u00a0 The Torah is the repository of gorgeous and frightening stories, loving and harsh law, enigmatic and revelatory narratives.\u00a0 When we lift the Torah, we honor and recognize that we humans are those self-same things \u2013 beautiful and scary, tender and cruel.\u00a0 We are carriers of secrets and capable of bringing light.\u00a0 \u00a0Our Torah is our mirror, and to look into it is to look into ourselves.<\/p>\n

Black fire on white fire, so the Talmud says.\u00a0 And all colors in between, I think.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will lift you up,\u201d I thought.<\/p>\n

To see another woman performing hagbah, check out the video on the page below:<\/em><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.myjewishlearning.com\/texts\/Liturgy_and_Prayers\/Siddur_Prayer_Book\/Torah_Service\/hagbah_gelilah.shtml<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year, I vowed to do the weight training, strengthen my skinny arms, and lift the Torah. Every year I\u2019d fail to do the training, regret my lack of time and commitment, and renew the vow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[144,143,58],"class_list":["post-615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-hagbah","tag-halakha","tag-teshuva"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=615"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":625,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions\/625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}