FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A Torah is more than the holy scripture from which all Jewish laws are derived. It unites a congregation.
Until recently, Kol Ami of Frederick members had to borrow a Torah from another local congregation.
Members of Kol Ami, which formed about five years ago, recently raised enough money to cover the cost of their own from Save a Torah, a nonprofit organization in Rockville that has been rescuing scrolls lost, hidden or stolen during the Holocaust for more than 20 years, Rabbi Dan Sikowitz said. He said the Torah cost about $20,000.
Rabbi Menachem Youlus, a Torah scribe, started rescuing Torahs about 21 years ago. After restoring damaged scrolls, he rededicates them for selected synagogues and groups to use for regular worship and education. Youlus presented a Torah he rescued from a warehouse in Lvov, Ukraine, to Kol Ami last month.
About 75 Kol Ami members gathered in a conference room at the Residence Inn on Westview Drive where Youlus explained the delicate process of restoring scrolls and the challenge of keeping them kosher — a single mistake could render a Torah defiled.
Youlus shared stories of how he started as a scribe, and the importance of rededicating a Torah and praying for the original owners whom the scrolls were taken from. He told the crowd their Torah, which is about 25 inches tall and about 170 feet long, is 89 to 92 years old.
“I’m not guessing,” he stated simply. Youlus is trained to take ink off parchment and dissect it. He can date a Torah within two years by examining dialects and how old the parchment is.
Youlus passed around panels of Torahs that were considered unfit for a number of reasons, including grammatical errors and missing letters.
Following the discussion, members had the opportunity to fill in several Hebrew letters, guided by Youlus, officially making the Torah their own. Youlus left 42 letters outlined for members to fill in with ink using a quill.
Several people signed up for two more dates when Youlus will return to guide and bless each person as they fill in the letters. “This is the beginning of the completion of this Torah,” he said.
Members shared their excitement about the Torah they will call their own when it is restored and rededicated. Tina Prensky was the first to sit down in front of the Torah. With Youlus at her side repeating a blessing, she carefully filled in a Hebrew letter.
“My family came from Ukraine,” Prensky said. Prensky, a Kol Ami member, said her family was forced to move to the United States in 1919 during the Kiev pogroms when thousands of Jews were killed in Ukraine.
Prensky said “it’s very thrilling” for a congregation to have its own Torah. She is glad to see her grandchildren experiencing the significance of this holy scripture.
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