Our tradition looks at every completion as the start of a new cycle. This Shabbat we complete the reading of the third book of the Bible, Va-Yikra, and in the afternoon begin the fourth book, Be’midbar. Before the last verse of Be’hukkotai the congregation rises and when the last words are read we respond with “Chazak chazak v’nithazek.” This anthem — “Strength, strength and may we be strengthened” — reflects the Jewish ideal that recognizes that shared study gives the individual and the community the ability to commit and recommit to a process that can guarantee the future.