Torah Restoration Project 5785
Take Part
This year, our community will begin a process of restoring our precious Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust. In the wreckage of Nazi hate, 1500 Torah scrolls were gathered in Prague from the devastated communities of the Czech Republic. Our community was gifted one of these precious scrolls by the Grandmother of Toby Comess-Daniels, Rae Goffen Comess. It comes from the small town of Dobříš just southwest of Prague.
These sacred Torahs, organized by the Memorial Scroll Trust in London, inspire communities around the world as enduring symbols of Jewish life and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy. By restoring our Torah, we continue the through line it represents, connecting past generations with us today and generations yet to come.
Why now?
In a normal year, it would be an incredible honor to restore a 200 year old Torah that not only survived the Holocaust, but danced at hundreds of Simchat Torah celebrations, welcomed hundreds of 13 year olds into Jewish adulthood, and was the centerpiece of a thriving Jewish community - and has been at the center of our celebrations. But 5785 is not a normal year for our community.
First, in 5785, we will celebrate our 83rd birthday. In Psalms we learn that 70 years is a full life; to live another 13 years beyond that - to the age of a second BMitzvah - is a great simcha - a great celebration.
Second, the terrorist attacks of October 7 fell on Simchat Torah - the moment in our year where we specifically rejoice in Torah - where we dance with our Torahs - where we consecrate our newest learners of Torah - where we acknowledge our Torah as the very center of Jewish life and Jewish continuity.
What is Restoration?
During the course of 5785, we will host Sofer Moshe Druin, a master scribe, to teach us all about the sacred process of writing and restoring a Torah.
Rabbi Druin begins by carefully cleaning & preparing the parchment for restoration. He removes stains, gently lifts and discards broken and crumbling letters, and repairs the seams where the sections of parchment are sewn together.
Once all of that preparation is complete, our community will join Rabbi Druin to ink new letters into the Torah scroll.
Founding Sponsors $7200+
The Diamond Family
The Frischer Family
Barbara Gartner
Michael, Eli, & Shayna Kadish & Deb Novak
Jeff & Layne Lepes
William and Patricia Oppenheim
The Paley Foundation
Jeffrey, Danielle & Lily Garfinkel
Jacqueline Scalisi
Joe Safier & Fern Avidon Safier
The Zaczepinski Family
Legacy Sponsors $3600+
The Family of Rae Goffen Comess
& of Leonard and Elaine Comess
Rabbi Neil and Toby Comess-Daniels
Eden Comess-Daniels
Hart, Danielle, Louis, and Kenter Daniels
Mike and Jill Schultz
Amy and Jeff Hartwick
Connor, Sophie, and Annabelle Hartwick
Kevin and Danielle Schultz
Celve, Eleanor and Quincy Schultz
Lee Schultz and Sandy Houston
Albert Courey & Jody Reichel
The Ellis Family
The Rothenberg Family
The Tobel Family
Donors
Leonard and Georgia Alkov
Alan and Halina Alter
“From generation to generation . . .”
Arieh & Nitza Ben Yehuda
The Benyaminy Family
Yetta Broslavsky
The Burgin Family
Sheryl Colby
Joshua & Esti Duenyas
Marc Katz & Lisa DeMattia
The Fox-Kaback Family
Linda & Mike Goldberg
Lisa Sales Miller
Patti Oblath & Michael Miller
The Rison-Arikian Family
In Honor of Abigail Rison's Bat Mitzvah
Ian Siegal
The Smollins Family
The Yurman Family
Eyal, Sophy, Itamar and Shira
Dani Durkin, Dave Lowther & Becket Lowther; Ari Hahyar & Ruth Blanco; Jody Reichel & Albert Courey; Ellen Satkin & Allan Silverstein; Steve & Nancy Schneider
In Memory of Grandma Rae
for Holocaust Torah Cover & Breastplate
It is a tree of life.
Proverbs 3:18