It’s truly a beautiful thing when we observe a custom that is universal among all Jewish communities. When we conclude the public Torah reading of parashat Mase’ei and move on from the book of B’midbar we will all chant “Chazak! Chazak! V’nitchazek!” We understand it to mean, “Be strong! Be strong! Let us strengthen one another!”

No one knows what gave rise to this practice. Yet it is striking that when Jews completed a book of Torah the word that echoed through their shuls was not “joy,” not “peace,” but “strength.”

I have a........

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