Torah celebration
By Jessica Ravitz
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
PARK CITY - They may be too young to read a Torah scroll. Years away from being able to carry one. Some of the younger kids, they can't even remember what to call the thing.
But Monday evening, as Temple Har Shalom's religious school students - preschoolers to sixth-graders - paraded around their synagogue to the sounds of Israeli folk music, what they knew or didn't know hardly mattered.
"The goal is to give everyone a positive Jewish experience," Rabbi Joshua Aaronson said.
With the help of parents and teachers, Aaronson engaged dozens of kids in a Simchat Torah celebration, the Jewish holiday to honor the completion of a yearlong cycle of Torah reading. The Torah, or first five books of the Hebrew Bible, is Judaism's holiest object. And the holiday, which officially began Tuesday evening and ran through Wednesday, is considered one of the most joyous in the Jewish calendar. It is the last in a series of holidays that fill the month.
Carefully and slowly, Aaronson unrolled one of the scrolls, holding one of the two wooden staves - another adult stood fast with the other - and winding his way around the room. The children, who clamored to come close, were assigned to hold up the long stretch of parchment. "You've got a very special responsibility right now," Aaronson reminded them.
With column upon column of ancient text unfurled before them, the children looked around in wonder.
"Whoa, look at all this Hebrew stuff," muttered one boy.
"I know, this would take years to write," said another.
Not years, necessarily, but plenty of time. A Torah scroll is handwritten by a certified scribe, called a "sofer," who must adhere to strict guidelines. The words, according to traditon, were dictated to Moses by God about 3,300 years ago, soon after the Exodus from Egypt. The content contains the stories and laws central to Jewish life.
"Who knows the last word of the Torah?" called out Aaronson.
"Amen?" ventured one girl.
"No," Drora Oren, the temple administrator, smiled. "It's 'Israel.' "
Aaronson read the last verse of Deuteronomy before the adults rolled the scroll back to the beginning and invited Oren, who's from Israel, to read the top of Genesis. Afterward, the children were invited to help dress the synagogue's two scrolls, with a protective velvet covering and other ornaments, before they were replaced in the ark.
Besides the religious value, many Torah scrolls carry a deep history. One of Temple Har Shalom's scrolls was commissioned for the synagogue, but the other is a remnant from the Holocaust.
That Torah scroll came from the town of Holesov in Moravia, the historical, eastern region of the Czech Republic. It, like many other scrolls, had been collected by Nazis for use in a planned museum about the extinct Jewish people. Nineteen years after German troops surrendered in Prague, 1,564 Torah scrolls - which had been stored in a Prague synagogue-turned-warehouse - were transported by railroad to London's Westminister Synagogue.
Since that historical 1964 transport, the largest Torah scroll shipment known, most of the scrolls have been sent to communities throughout the world where they remain on permanent loan.
At Utah's largest synagogue, Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, children had their own Simchat Torah celebration Tuesday night before the adults took over. Cantor Laurence Loeb led the evening service, singing prayers in a "name that tune" fashion. Congregants laughed and raised their hands as they recognized songs which ran the gamut from "London Bridge Is Falling Down," to "Arrivederci Roma" and "A Bicycle Built for Two."
Musicians from The KlezBros, a Salt Lake City klezmer band, took stage and played as congregants stood for Israeli folkdancing, singing, clapping and the shared honor of carrying a Torah scroll.
Meanwhile, over at the Chabad Lubavitch celebration at Bais Menachem in Salt Lake's Sugar House neighborhood, men tossed back shots of vodka and whiskey and sipped on bottles of Michelob Ultra. Drinking on Simchat Torah, while nowhere commanded and not a part of most Jewish celebrations, has become tradition in some circles - a part of the festivities.
"Oh, yeah. The rabbi is lit," laughed Alysse Eisen Silk, as Rabbi Benny Zippel's voice boomed from the men's side of the room. In Orthodox Judaism, men and women are separated in synagogue sanctuaries and while dancing.
Some of the women cradled babies, socializing in corners. Israelis chatted away in Hebrew, exchanging laughs. Two older Russian women sat together, sharing observations in their native tongue.
As the singing and dancing heated up, and the night went on, most everyone stood from their seats to join in.
Among them was Silk's 5-year-old daughter, Shayna (Yiddish for "beautiful"), who - despite being up well past her bedtime - could not sit still. She jumped around to the music, clutching in her arms a stuffed-toy Torah in bright colors of red, yellow and blue.
She danced and danced some more, following the crowd as it moved out into the main foyer and later outdoors. And even if little Shayna didn't fully understand why she was doing what she was doing, the girl was enjoying her Judaism - celebrating what the Torah has given to her people, and what it will someday mean to her.
---
Contact Jessica Ravitz at jravitz@sltrib.com or 257-8776. Send comments about this article to religioneditor@sltrib.com.
A period of holidays
Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, has more Jewish holidays than any other month. It begins with the 10 holiest days or "Days of Awe," a time for serious reflection that links Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year - and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Four days later, Jews switch gears, allow themselves to relax and begin celebrating three more consecutive holidays: Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
l Sukkot: The Hebrew word means "tabernacles" or "huts." It is an agricultural holiday celebrating the harvest in Israel. Before the holiday, Jews are instructed to build a "sukkah" - a temporary dwelling symbolizing the tents or booths Jews lived in during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Among the traditions, people eat meals - sometimes even sleep - in these structures, which are decorated with leaves, branches, fruits and vegetables. A special prayer is recited over four varieties of plants, including the "lulav," palm branch, and "etrog," citron. To some, the "sukkah" also serves as a reminder, in the aftermath of years of persecution and exile from other countries, that Jews should not become too rooted in one place.
l Shmini Atzeret: The eighth and final day of Sukkot includes a prayer for rain. It falls at the beginning of Israel's rainy season.
l Simchat Torah: One of the most joyous Jewish holidays. Literal translation: "Rejoicing in the Law." It marks the time when Jews finish the yearlong reading cycle of the Torah scroll, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Observance includes the final reading of the Torah, the last verse of Deuteronomy, and a rolling back of the scroll to read the very beginning of Genesis. While other joyous Jewish holidays, such as Hanukah and Purim, celebrate victories over enemies, this one is free from negative associations. Celebrations include dancing, singing and, in some cases, lots of drinking. Simchat Torah celebrations were especially coveted by Russian Jews in the 1960s and 1970s, when this holiday marked the only day Soviet authorities allowed - at least to some extent - Jews to gather in front of synagogues and publicly display their commitment to Judaism.
Source: "Jewish Literacy," by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
The Torah scrolls,
Judaism's holiest objects, carry religious and historical significance
l There are exactly 304,805 Hebrew letters in a scroll, making up an average number of 245 text columns.
l A scroll is considered a living document and its materials, including the ink, must be natural. The text is written on parchment pieces, made from the skin of a kosher animal, which are sewn together with thread made from animal sinews.
l Completely unfurled, a scroll might run half the length of a college football field.
l A full-size Torah scroll can weigh 20 to 30 pounds.
l A scroll is handwritten by a certified scribe called a "sofer." A new scroll takes an average of one year of full-time work to complete. If flawed, a Torah is deemed invalid for use. Only a "sofer" can make repairs.
l Torah scrolls damaged beyond repair must be buried in a Jewish cemetery.
l When properly preserved, a scroll can last hundreds of years.
l A new scroll costs anywhere from $20,000 to more than $40,000. A used, kosher scroll sells for as little as $7,000. Torah scrolls are listed on a registry to protect against theft and resale.
l The Nazi regime collected and stored many Torah scrolls, and other religious items, with plans to use them in a museum about the extinct Jewish people.
l Israel serves as a clearinghouse for most recovered Torah scrolls.
l Heard, but not confirmed: About 10 Torah scrolls were found in Iraq and smuggled out of the country.
Source: Rabbi Ariel Asa, a "sofer" based in Atlanta
MEMBERS OF NEW YORK-BASED ZAKA,
a rescue and recovery organization that's headquartered in Israel, traveled to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Their assignment included retrieving Jewish bodies (of which there were six), and visiting the flooded Congregation Beth Israel to rescue the synagogue's six holy Torah scrolls. Isaac Leider carries one of the scrolls through the waist-high waters. None of the scrolls - a few believed to be more than 250 years old - was salvageable. The Torah scrolls were temporarily buried, and a formal burial will take place next week in the Jewish cemetery in Baton Rouge, said Matis Zahav, executive director of ZAKA in Brooklyn.
A rescue effort
Scrolls in Utah
l Congregation Kol Ami, Salt Lake City: 10 scrolls, most of which came from the former synagogues of Congregation Montefiore and B'nai Israel. Although their history is not recorded, these scrolls probably are more than 100 years old. One of the two newer Torah scrolls, completed in 1990, was commissioned by Manny Pepper, now deceased, who purchased the scroll in memory of his wife and daughter.
l Chavurah B'Yachad, Salt Lake City: One scroll, acquired after the military closed bases in the 1990s and got rid of religious objects. The scroll required some repairs, and the Torah scribe who tended to the scroll said that based on writing and style, it was probably written in Germany in the late 1890s or early 1900s.
l Chabad Lubavitch, Salt Lake City: Two scrolls, one on permanent loan from Rabbi Benny Zippel's late father's synagogue in Milan, Italy. The other scroll, a donation, was rescued from the former Soviet Union, when - during Communism - religious practices were forbidden.
l Sha'arei Tefila, Salt Lake City: One scroll, brought to Salt Lake City by Rabbi Ari Galandauer from Montreal. Although the exact details are unknown, the scroll was created in Europe, well before the Holocaust.
l Temple Har Shalom, Park City: Two scrolls, one newly commissioned by the synagogue. The other was a remnant from the Holocaust, found in Prague among 1,564 Torah scrolls stored in a synagogue-turned-warehouse.
Source: Synagogue leaders and rabbis
By Jessica Ravitz
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
PARK CITY - They may be too young to read a Torah scroll. Years away from being able to carry one. Some of the younger kids, they can't even remember what to call the thing.
But Monday evening, as Temple Har Shalom's religious school students - preschoolers to sixth-graders - paraded around their synagogue to the sounds of Israeli folk music, what they knew or didn't know hardly mattered.
"The goal is to give everyone a positive Jewish experience," Rabbi Joshua Aaronson said.
With the help of parents and teachers, Aaronson engaged dozens of kids in a Simchat Torah celebration, the Jewish holiday to honor the completion of a yearlong cycle of Torah reading. The Torah, or first five books of the Hebrew Bible, is Judaism's holiest object. And the holiday, which officially began Tuesday evening and ran through Wednesday, is considered one of the most joyous in the Jewish calendar. It is the last in a series of holidays that fill the month.
Carefully and slowly, Aaronson unrolled one of the scrolls, holding one of the two wooden staves - another adult stood fast with the other - and winding his way around the room. The children, who clamored to come close, were assigned to hold up the long stretch of parchment. "You've got a very special responsibility right now," Aaronson reminded them.
With column upon column of ancient text unfurled before them, the children looked around in wonder.
"Whoa, look at all this Hebrew stuff," muttered one boy.
"I know, this would take years to write," said another.
Not years, necessarily, but plenty of time. A Torah scroll is handwritten by a certified scribe, called a "sofer," who must adhere to strict guidelines. The words, according to traditon, were dictated to Moses by God about 3,300 years ago, soon after the Exodus from Egypt. The content contains the stories and laws central to Jewish life.
"Who knows the last word of the Torah?" called out Aaronson.
"Amen?" ventured one girl.
"No," Drora Oren, the temple administrator, smiled. "It's 'Israel.' "
Aaronson read the last verse of Deuteronomy before the adults rolled the scroll back to the beginning and invited Oren, who's from Israel, to read the top of Genesis. Afterward, the children were invited to help dress the synagogue's two scrolls, with a protective velvet covering and other ornaments, before they were replaced in the ark.
Besides the religious value, many Torah scrolls carry a deep history. One of Temple Har Shalom's scrolls was commissioned for the synagogue, but the other is a remnant from the Holocaust.
That Torah scroll came from the town of Holesov in Moravia, the historical, eastern region of the Czech Republic. It, like many other scrolls, had been collected by Nazis for use in a planned museum about the extinct Jewish people. Nineteen years after German troops surrendered in Prague, 1,564 Torah scrolls - which had been stored in a Prague synagogue-turned-warehouse - were transported by railroad to London's Westminister Synagogue.
Since that historical 1964 transport, the largest Torah scroll shipment known, most of the scrolls have been sent to communities throughout the world where they remain on permanent loan.
At Utah's largest synagogue, Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, children had their own Simchat Torah celebration Tuesday night before the adults took over. Cantor Laurence Loeb led the evening service, singing prayers in a "name that tune" fashion. Congregants laughed and raised their hands as they recognized songs which ran the gamut from "London Bridge Is Falling Down," to "Arrivederci Roma" and "A Bicycle Built for Two."
Musicians from The KlezBros, a Salt Lake City klezmer band, took stage and played as congregants stood for Israeli folkdancing, singing, clapping and the shared honor of carrying a Torah scroll.
Meanwhile, over at the Chabad Lubavitch celebration at Bais Menachem in Salt Lake's Sugar House neighborhood, men tossed back shots of vodka and whiskey and sipped on bottles of Michelob Ultra. Drinking on Simchat Torah, while nowhere commanded and not a part of most Jewish celebrations, has become tradition in some circles - a part of the festivities.
"Oh, yeah. The rabbi is lit," laughed Alysse Eisen Silk, as Rabbi Benny Zippel's voice boomed from the men's side of the room. In Orthodox Judaism, men and women are separated in synagogue sanctuaries and while dancing.
Some of the women cradled babies, socializing in corners. Israelis chatted away in Hebrew, exchanging laughs. Two older Russian women sat together, sharing observations in their native tongue.
As the singing and dancing heated up, and the night went on, most everyone stood from their seats to join in.
Among them was Silk's 5-year-old daughter, Shayna (Yiddish for "beautiful"), who - despite being up well past her bedtime - could not sit still. She jumped around to the music, clutching in her arms a stuffed-toy Torah in bright colors of red, yellow and blue.
She danced and danced some more, following the crowd as it moved out into the main foyer and later outdoors. And even if little Shayna didn't fully understand why she was doing what she was doing, the girl was enjoying her Judaism - celebrating what the Torah has given to her people, and what it will someday mean to her.
---
Contact Jessica Ravitz at jravitz@sltrib.com or 257-8776. Send comments about this article to religioneditor@sltrib.com.
A period of holidays
Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, has more Jewish holidays than any other month. It begins with the 10 holiest days or "Days of Awe," a time for serious reflection that links Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year - and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Four days later, Jews switch gears, allow themselves to relax and begin celebrating three more consecutive holidays: Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
l Sukkot: The Hebrew word means "tabernacles" or "huts." It is an agricultural holiday celebrating the harvest in Israel. Before the holiday, Jews are instructed to build a "sukkah" - a temporary dwelling symbolizing the tents or booths Jews lived in during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Among the traditions, people eat meals - sometimes even sleep - in these structures, which are decorated with leaves, branches, fruits and vegetables. A special prayer is recited over four varieties of plants, including the "lulav," palm branch, and "etrog," citron. To some, the "sukkah" also serves as a reminder, in the aftermath of years of persecution and exile from other countries, that Jews should not become too rooted in one place.
l Shmini Atzeret: The eighth and final day of Sukkot includes a prayer for rain. It falls at the beginning of Israel's rainy season.
l Simchat Torah: One of the most joyous Jewish holidays. Literal translation: "Rejoicing in the Law." It marks the time when Jews finish the yearlong reading cycle of the Torah scroll, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Observance includes the final reading of the Torah, the last verse of Deuteronomy, and a rolling back of the scroll to read the very beginning of Genesis. While other joyous Jewish holidays, such as Hanukah and Purim, celebrate victories over enemies, this one is free from negative associations. Celebrations include dancing, singing and, in some cases, lots of drinking. Simchat Torah celebrations were especially coveted by Russian Jews in the 1960s and 1970s, when this holiday marked the only day Soviet authorities allowed - at least to some extent - Jews to gather in front of synagogues and publicly display their commitment to Judaism.
Source: "Jewish Literacy," by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
The Torah scrolls,
Judaism's holiest objects, carry religious and historical significance
l There are exactly 304,805 Hebrew letters in a scroll, making up an average number of 245 text columns.
l A scroll is considered a living document and its materials, including the ink, must be natural. The text is written on parchment pieces, made from the skin of a kosher animal, which are sewn together with thread made from animal sinews.
l Completely unfurled, a scroll might run half the length of a college football field.
l A full-size Torah scroll can weigh 20 to 30 pounds.
l A scroll is handwritten by a certified scribe called a "sofer." A new scroll takes an average of one year of full-time work to complete. If flawed, a Torah is deemed invalid for use. Only a "sofer" can make repairs.
l Torah scrolls damaged beyond repair must be buried in a Jewish cemetery.
l When properly preserved, a scroll can last hundreds of years.
l A new scroll costs anywhere from $20,000 to more than $40,000. A used, kosher scroll sells for as little as $7,000. Torah scrolls are listed on a registry to protect against theft and resale.
l The Nazi regime collected and stored many Torah scrolls, and other religious items, with plans to use them in a museum about the extinct Jewish people.
l Israel serves as a clearinghouse for most recovered Torah scrolls.
l Heard, but not confirmed: About 10 Torah scrolls were found in Iraq and smuggled out of the country.
Source: Rabbi Ariel Asa, a "sofer" based in Atlanta
MEMBERS OF NEW YORK-BASED ZAKA,
a rescue and recovery organization that's headquartered in Israel, traveled to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Their assignment included retrieving Jewish bodies (of which there were six), and visiting the flooded Congregation Beth Israel to rescue the synagogue's six holy Torah scrolls. Isaac Leider carries one of the scrolls through the waist-high waters. None of the scrolls - a few believed to be more than 250 years old - was salvageable. The Torah scrolls were temporarily buried, and a formal burial will take place next week in the Jewish cemetery in Baton Rouge, said Matis Zahav, executive director of ZAKA in Brooklyn.
A rescue effort
Scrolls in Utah
l Congregation Kol Ami, Salt Lake City: 10 scrolls, most of which came from the former synagogues of Congregation Montefiore and B'nai Israel. Although their history is not recorded, these scrolls probably are more than 100 years old. One of the two newer Torah scrolls, completed in 1990, was commissioned by Manny Pepper, now deceased, who purchased the scroll in memory of his wife and daughter.
l Chavurah B'Yachad, Salt Lake City: One scroll, acquired after the military closed bases in the 1990s and got rid of religious objects. The scroll required some repairs, and the Torah scribe who tended to the scroll said that based on writing and style, it was probably written in Germany in the late 1890s or early 1900s.
l Chabad Lubavitch, Salt Lake City: Two scrolls, one on permanent loan from Rabbi Benny Zippel's late father's synagogue in Milan, Italy. The other scroll, a donation, was rescued from the former Soviet Union, when - during Communism - religious practices were forbidden.
l Sha'arei Tefila, Salt Lake City: One scroll, brought to Salt Lake City by Rabbi Ari Galandauer from Montreal. Although the exact details are unknown, the scroll was created in Europe, well before the Holocaust.
l Temple Har Shalom, Park City: Two scrolls, one newly commissioned by the synagogue. The other was a remnant from the Holocaust, found in Prague among 1,564 Torah scrolls stored in a synagogue-turned-warehouse.
Source: Synagogue leaders and rabbis
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