MST in the US House of Representatives

We just found the following information regarding our scroll MST #1230 online via the Congressional Record Volume 140, #111, for Thursday 11th August 1994:

 
                    DEDICATION OF HAMPTON SYNAGOGUE

                                 ______


                      HON. GEORGE J. HOCHBRUECKNER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, August 11, 1994

  Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
Hampton Synagogue located in Westhampton Beach, NY, which will be 
celebrating its dedication ceremony on Sunday, August 14, 1994.
  As founding Rabbi Marc Schneier said, ``It is the synagogue that 
embodies Jewish continuity and makes that continuity possible; the 
Hamptons are now linked with that historic continuity.'' The Hampton 
Synagogue is the first traditional synagogue built in the Hamptons, and 
most of its interior is from Israel, including large stones that were 
shipped in from Jerusalem.
  Famed director Steven Spielberg and the Honorable Gad Yaacobi, 
Israeli Ambassador to the United States, are the two guest speakers who 
will celebrate the dedication with the congregants. During the 
ceremony, Mr. Spielberg will also be invited to join Rabbi Schneier in 
a rededication of the community Torah scroll of Domazlice, 
Czechoslovakia. This scroll was one of many that was destroyed during 
the holocaust. It will serve as a permanent memorial to the more than 6 
million jews who were massacred by Hitler's regime.
  There is much excitement in the community surrounding the completion 
of the new synagogue, and an enormous turnout is expected on September 
5, when the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, will be celebrated. I wish 
them happiness during that celebration and commend each person involved 
in the foundation of the synagogue for making it possible with their 
time, effort, and caring attitude.
  Mr. Speaker, it is quite evident that the Hampton Synagogue will be a 
special place. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
historic dedication of the Hampton Synagogue.

                          ____________________

Steven Spielberg has been part of a service for one of the MST scrolls? That's almost as exciting as the scroll being mentioned in the Congressional Record! I wonder if there may be photographs of this event .....?

A Visit from the Brands

This morning the MST had the great pleasure of meeting 2 of the grand-daughters of Sofer Brand. They are in town for a family wedding and their mother told them that they must check out the museum! In a mixture of English, Yiddish & Ivrit we shared the story of the scrolls and the part that their zaide played in preserving and restoring these last witnesses to Jewish life in Bohemia and Moravia before the Shoah.

Sara & Chaya were excited to hear about the work of their grandfather and to see the rooms in which it took place and the tools that he used. They took many photographs for the folks back home.

I was also able to speak with their mother, Sofer Brand's daughter, since they called her when we were chatting in the MST office. She mentioned that Sofer Brand's health is not too good at the moment. We shall add Eliyahu David ben Feige to our prayers for healing.

Sorrow for Charlie Hebdo Victims

Our hearts and thoughts are with the family and friends of those murdered at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris yesterday. It is hard to think about the joy of Shabbat approaching when there is such evil in the world. We can only hope that the rest we get will give us strength and energy to continue the work of tikkun olam, the healing of our world. 

Southern Teacher Training for the MRJ

SOUTHERN TEACHER TRAINING FOR THE MRJ
This Sunday 11th January at the Sternberg Centre

If your synagogue has a Czech Scroll, come and hear about our FREE new Education Pack - a 6 week module containing everything you need for B'nei Mitzvah students to learn about the role of the Torah in Jewish life then and now.

Presented by Rabbi Ariel J Friedlander, MST Administrator

MST Education Pack visits Manchester

Rabbi Ariel J Friedlander presents the new MST Ed Pack at the MRJ seminar in Manchester. Photo: Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers

The advent of the new Gregorian year saw Rabbi Ariel J Friedlander travelling north to spread the word about the MST's new Education Pack. At the kind invitation of the Movement for Reform Judaism, she spoke to a group of educators from Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle about the Czech Scrolls and how this programme for B'nei Mitzvah students may enrich their connection to a Jewish life. Cheder teachers were enthused, and plans are already in motion for integrating the pack into synagogue Religion School studies!