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Shabbat and the Jewish Holidays |
How did we get so many scrolls? A Torah scroll was never thrown out, no matter what its condition, as it is forbidden to desecrate any page of holy writ or to use it for any profane purpose. When a scroll or a prayer book or a khumesh (Pentateuch) got old and dog-eared, when it was beyond repair, it was deposited in the pulish. The pulish was a little shed near the synagogue. When the pulish was full, the holy texts were buried in the cemetery. The synagogue was around 500 years old, so there were lots of Torahs in the pulish. Since there was no pulish in the besmedresh, they kept worn out scrolls and books in a special cabinet. On Simkhes toyre we dug out all the scrolls, so a lot of people had a chance to parade with one. This holiday was one of the few times when it was permissible to get a little tipsy. Mayer discusses the Jewish holiday of Simchas Torah (Simkhes toyre), which was a festive time. Listen to it. |
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