Fifty Torah Scrolls

Fifty Torah Scrolls

by Kelp

First the curtain was pulled away,
Then the wooden doors were opened,
One door by one man, the other by another.
Revealing a wall of Sefer Torahs.
And I was the Gabbai, I stood close by.

Fifty Torah scrolls,
Each one wrapped up in its velvet jumper,
Each one propped up on its hidden shelf
One over the other, and side by side,
Like a wall of Torahs, every Torah a brick in the wall.

The kehillah belted out “Ki Mitzion”
And the earth rumbled slightly
Beneath our feet.
And all the Torahs leaned forward to bow,
As if they were praying, “Anachnu Korim,”
But really they were falling, falling forward,
Each one falling on it’s face,
Onto the floor of the bimah.
Fifty Torahs tumbled down,
One by one, or all at once, it happened so quickly, we had no time
To register or respond. 

I dived to catch one before it hit the ground,
And I did -- I caught it -- a white sefer Torah, without a crown,
I caught it and held it close to my breast,
My stomach to the ground, but my face upturned,
As I watched the other Torahs fall precipitously to the floor.
Some fell flat and some seemed to bounce or roll or walk or run away,
As if they had feet of their own,
And we all watched in disbelief.