How Important?

[Dancin_Revvi]

Shalom Everyone,

Do you do this?? How important is it to you??

I gotta be honest. With how my life is right now, and how busy it constantly stays, I often don't make time to spend in the Word. In the past day or 2, I've done more studying then I have in the past 2 weeks. Life takes over and I put HIM aside, and then G-d throws a rock at me and hits me across the head and says "Wake Up, Caleb" and I realize that I've put Him aside, yet again.

Do you do this?? Surely you do. Life takes over so often, I know, I see it, I live it.

Each week in the Torah Portion (TP) something usually applies somewhere in your life. That I find amazing. Sticking to reading the same books over and over is Hard, I know. It seems like you read this again and again, but never learn something new. (See the "How to study" topic) But if you read the Torah, HafTorah, and the B'rit Chadashah, you can really see how the "OT" shows up in the "NT!" It's truly amazing.

This room is designed to discuss the weekly Torah Portion. My question to you all is: How important is to read the Word?? What about the Torah Portion?? Do you read the TP each week?? Do you get something new out of it when you do??

I'm working my butt off to get back into the Word, especially the TP. When/if my life slows down a little I really hope to be on here with some studies soon.

Please share your thoughts!!

Blessings,
Dancin_Revvi.

[Paisley]

When my family studied the Torah portion each week together (and sadly we've been kinda slacking off on that lately due to half of us having jobs and two of us being management), we would always read the Torah and the Haftarah every week, and it was always so easy to see parallels between the two. It brings out a lot of new meanings in passages you probably wouldn't think to put together on your own.

My question is, how do you keep from just reading the same thing every year? I mean, obviously you go through the Torah each year, but when you re-read it, are you finding new things? Are fresh messages coming to light? Are different parts sticking out to you every time you read it?

Or are you just reading the same words over and over just to say you are?

[Tohru]

does anyone have a concordance? *particularly a strongs concordance?* it's VERY helpful for studying. it can show you completely different meanings to words you never thought they had; for instance, torah says not to kindle the fire on Shabbat, and the word "kindle" *1197, Hebrew def.* means *i read* to "eat, feed, kindle, set [on fire], waste, etc..." or the word "touched" could mean "violently struck", as in when Jacob wrestles for the blessing.

what i use to do *and need to do more often* is go through and pick out a passage and re-write it using the definitions of the concordance. it makes more sense to me that way, not to mention it just makes studying the Torah more fun! >^.^< lol

hope this helps!

~Tohru <3

[MadMath]

I really like the way my home congregation does things. Every Shabbat we read the Torah portion (with the Haftorah and New Testament readings) together. Since each portion is divided into 7 sections, someone will volunteer to read each section. We then midrash after each section (unless, as happens more often than not, our congregation leader interrupts the reader). The congregation leader usually does most of the teaching, but he always welcomes questions and comments from everyone else. So, it's kinda like a cross between a normal teaching and an informal Bible study. And like I said before, we read through the whole Torah portion together.

[Cherev Hatorah]

We are at a congregation at the moment, and we read the The Torah Portion every week. But for our family, we try to read it before the Shabbat, becuase having three under 4 years makes it hard to keep our attention on the Torah.
For me personally, I am getting back in to studying more, as I have drifted as well. I don't know if any of you have heard of Bill Bullock, A.K.A Rabbi's Son, but he has a e-commentary (I guess, Newsletter, w/e) That he sends out every week. They are very good, and I am starting to read them. My momther has been reading them for about 2 years, and she LOVES them. It's a bible curicullum that he actually made for his sons. Anyway, they are a good study source.
I would say I do get something out of them when I read the TP most of the time. I woudn't say EVERY time, but quite often, and now that I start looking, there is more and more. I find the same is happening when I read the Siddur, more things pop out at me as I read them that I can apply to my life, or pertain to my life.
Torhu, I have a Storng's concordance, and I agree, there are SO many different translations of one Hebrew word, that it can change the whole meaning of a sentence! It's amazing!
I was working on writing out the Torah in Hebrew a few years back, and I got to about the middle of B'riesheet. It is HARD work, especially if Hebrew isn't your first language, but I found it so much more revealing. The Hebrew language is amazing, I wish I knew more of it! But drifting off topic.
I say it is VERY important to study the TP, or any part of the Bible, but I know it is not the #1 priority in my life. And I know it is hard, being a bit younger, it's hard to have the attention span and the self control to keep your mind on the Torah and G-d.

TTFN

[blondie13]

I have tried many times to stay on it and study. But I have all kinds of stuff happening in the week (ie. Dance and Piano and Soccer is starting) but I have paid as much attention to the TP as I can each week. My family has almost got through Joshua. Its a working progress. and yes.. I go to the same congregation as Trent does so I do try and pay attention. Most of it is listening and following in my bible but sometimes stuff side-tracks me. I want to try and get to be listening more... I have been trying!

[~DoodleDance~]

Studying has always been hard for me. I read the parsha everyweek, and usually the haftarah too and sometimes brit chadasha. For the past couple weeks I've been reading a study on the parsha .
Theoretically I know how to study, but when I try, it seems I get nowhere.

I attend a congregation, but I'm not learning much from the teaching. (I don't know if its me or the teachers...)

I think that it is very important to study and read the parsha. Even if we read it over and over, it is good to have it in our minds and be familiar with it.