Our Torah Scrolls
Anthony Russell (carrying Czech Torah) and Sandy Sherman carry our Torahs at our Simchat Torah celebration.
Czech Torah Scroll
In October of 1985, Dor Hadash began the process of acquiring a Torah for the congregation. Members learned that, following the Holocaust, many Torah scrolls had been rescued from destroyed Jewish communities in Europe. Dor Hadash decided to seek one of these scrolls—a Czech Memorial Torah Scroll—through Westminster Synagogue in London. A formal request was submitted and in October 1986 Dor Hadash was in the final stages of acquiring a Czech Memorial Torah Scroll and hoped to receive it in time for Simchat Torah that year. After a personal inspection of the Torah Scroll by Mort Friedlander and Aanan Beh-Yehuda in England, our Czech Memorial Torah arrived three days before Yom Kippur.
In the November 1986 Ha Kesher, Vol 2, No. 1, Rabbi Ron Herstik, Dor Hadash’s founding rabbi wrote:
In the November 1986 Ha Kesher, Vol 2, No. 1, Rabbi Ron Herstik, Dor Hadash’s founding rabbi wrote:
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“A blessing is the life of the universe, Adonai, that has kept us in life, sustained us, and enabled us to come to this moment of celebration.
It came in a large undistinguished, brown carton box. You simply would not have known that a Torah was contained in that box, The feelings of sadness, anger, and exultation ran through me as I placed the box on my living room table and opened it in the presence of two friends (Hoppy Chandler and Mark Brown). It was a Mikra Kodesh, a Holy event for me. After all, this was a Czech Torah; it came from my parents’ birthplace, and like them, it, too, is a survivor of the Holocaust. Throughout the war, the Nazis “collected” Jewish ritual objects, including perhaps thousands of Torah scrolls. It was their intention to create a museum for an “extinct race,” where the artifacts of the Jewish civilization would be displayed. Jews would be no more, but the remains of their material culture would be displayed for future generations who would have never seen a live Jew. I am overwhelmed. I have seen the PRECIOUS LEGACY exhibit, and it only represents a small number of the artifacts that are still housed in Prague, Czechoslovakia I have also seen the pictures of the storehouses, where Torah ornaments, covers, scrolls, books, and the belongings of millions of our people are stacked, numbered, and catalogued. The scene is too vast to comprehend and too sad to contemplate for very long. We are not an extinct race. We are a living people, the House of Israel. Now we, the Dor Hadash community, have a very previous, if not extraordinary torah in our midst. It will become our Etz Hayim, Tree of Life, a source of profound memories as well as a source of teaching. We celebrate in our Torah, a source of our identity and a symbol of Congregation Dor Hadash come to age. With shalom, Ron Herstik." |
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Rabbi Ron Herstik and member Hoppy Chandler
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To learn more about the Czech Torah Scrolls, please see their website at: https://memorialscrollstrust.org
Our Second Torah
An article in the January 1998 issue of Ha Kesher announced that Dor Hadash’s first Adult B’nai Mitzvah class had begun an effort to acquire a second Sefer Torah for the congregation, envisioned as “a lasting symbol of their commitment to living Torah.” The goal was to raise a minimum of $7,500 to purchase a second-hand Torah scroll in good condition, and members and friends generously contributed to the Torah Fund.
In March 1998, the congregation learned that Rabbi Alexis Pearce had located a suitable scroll, and it was purchased soon thereafter. On Simchat Torah, October 11, 1998, Dor Hadash dedicated its new Torah scroll. The new scroll would be used for regular services, while the older Czech Memorial Torah would enter semi-retirement, to be used only on special occasions and when more than one scroll was required.
As member Ellen Dannin reflected, “This will be a bittersweet occasion. A generation of Dor Hadash members has had our current scroll as a participant in our most important moments and as a companion at Shabbat worship. Our new scroll will be a witness and participant to these events in years to come.”
In March 1998, the congregation learned that Rabbi Alexis Pearce had located a suitable scroll, and it was purchased soon thereafter. On Simchat Torah, October 11, 1998, Dor Hadash dedicated its new Torah scroll. The new scroll would be used for regular services, while the older Czech Memorial Torah would enter semi-retirement, to be used only on special occasions and when more than one scroll was required.
As member Ellen Dannin reflected, “This will be a bittersweet occasion. A generation of Dor Hadash members has had our current scroll as a participant in our most important moments and as a companion at Shabbat worship. Our new scroll will be a witness and participant to these events in years to come.”