Our Holocaust Torahs

Our Temple is proud to host, on permanent loan, Torah MST#522 from Ivanovice na Hane in the Czech Republic which was saved in the Shoah (Holocaust.) This loan is courtesy of the Memorial Scrolls Trust, an organization dedicated to keeping alive the memory of these sacred scrolls, who survived when virtually all of their caretakers perished in the Shoah. 

This Torah stands in a place of honor in our ark, and is carried in our Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Simchat Torah services every year, to remind us of the sacrifices of those who stood up to the Nazis and hid, preserved and passed on the sacred text of our people, so that our community can pray and remember their memories.  

Rabbi Emeritis David Greenberg noted:

"When the temple was first established in 1976, one of the early questions concerned how and where to obtain a Torah.  It was decided that it would be very meaningful to obtain a “Holocaust Scroll” and give it new life and purpose.

Throughout some forty years, every child who became Bar/Bat Mitzvah did so by carrying and chanting from this scroll—a symbol of its rebirth and the life that we as a congregation have breathed into this very special Torah.  A number of years ago we had a Sofer, Neil Yerman, do work on the Torah so that it would remain suitable for many years to come.  For our “first generation” of congregants, this particular Torah scroll had profound meaning and was lovingly cared for.  I would often explain the “story” of our Torah to guests attending Bar/Bat Mizvahs."

We also host Torah MST#739, and we are researching its history.