Siyum for MST #655 in Sharon, MA

 

Community youth gather around MST #655

Sofer Kevin Hale

 

MST Chair Jeffrey Ohrenstein prepares to address the community

 

Rabbi Meszler with 18 scrolls reunited

 

Scroll holders in procession

 

New England Scroll Reunion on the bima at Temple Sinai of Sharon

MST Chair Jeffrey Ohrenstein has just returned from a weekend in Sharon MA where he attended a siyum for the repair of our scroll MST #655 from Prestice, on loan to Temple Sinai for the last 26 years. Westminster Synagogue is also the holder of a scroll from Prestice,and in his role as Chair of the synagogue, Mr Ohrenstein brought MST #178 to Sharon to join 16 other New England scrolls and Sofer Kevin Hale  for a moving reunion in the Temple Sinai sanctuary.  He writes:

"...there were 18 MST Sifrei Torah and there were a lot of wet eyes in the congregation. Rabbi Meszler and his community have done an incredible job and I was privileged to take part in the siyum."

One attendee wrote:

"I have been to events at Temple Sinai for over 25 years and this was so very, very special. It was the BEST. Seeing those other 17 Torahs reunited from Czechoslovakia pre Holocaust and having our own Czech Torah restored for use by our congregation gave us chills and memories that will be forever remembered."

Mr Ohrenstein was also invited to Shabbat services at Temple Israel of Sharon, holders of MST #1029 from Prestice, and spoke to the congregation about the work of the MST. The congregation was thus motivated to begin restoration work on their scroll, and to join with the MST to develop education projects in their community.

If your congregation is interested in hosting a Scrolls Reunion for the MST scrolls in your city or state, do contact us and we shall do all we can to assist and support such a project!

Memorial Scrolls Committee Welcomes New Members

Memorial Scrolls Committee members: (l-r) Nick Young, Tony Yablon, Jeffrey Ohrenstein (Chair), Miles Laddie, David Lawson

The Memorial Scrolls Committee, meeting regularly to advise the MST trustees and discuss issues connected to the Trust, has welcomed its first members drawn from communities beyond Westminster Synagogue. MST Chair Jeffrey Ohrenstein was delighted to welcome four new members to the committee, including Tony Yablon, son of the Scrolls' benefactor Ralph Yablon; and David Lawson from Kingston, Surbiton & District Synagogue, one of the most active scroll-holding communities in the United Kingdom. We look forward to working with them, and also welcome our friends Nick Young and Miles Laddie to the group.

MST Scrolls in Interesting Places

MST #803 from Vodnany is in the care of Camp Tawonga, on the doorstep of Yosemite National Park. Do send us your photos of our scrolls so we can share all the roles the scrolls play in communities across the world!

MST #486 Finds a New Home on Loan in New Hampshire

Rabbi David Senter and his wife Elissa just shared this photo journal of their journey to collect our scroll MST #486 on loan and take it to its new home at Temple Israel in Portsmouth NH. Mazal tov to Temple Israel, and myriad thanks to Rabbi Norman Patz for his loving care for the scroll while it waited for reassignment.

Rabbi Norman Patz shows me the the Memorial Scroll Trust brass plaque with the Scroll’s identification number.

The formal transfer of the scroll.

Opening the scroll for the first time.

The Ktav (calligraphy) is beautiful and the scroll is in amazing condition.

Wrapping the scroll in preparation for the return trip. The older tallit (yellowed) was a gift from my Bubby (grandma) to my Zayda (grandpa) on their wedding day. The black and white Tallit was the chuppah under which Elissa and I were married.

Elissa and I prepare to escort the Torah to Portsmouth.

Our guest of honor is secured for the journey to Portsmouth.

Together we examine the book of Shemot (Exodus).

The Hebrew School children view the Torah with amazement.

 

Memorial Scroll # 486 takes a place of honor in Temple Israel's historic sanctuary.

.Copyright © 2015 Temple Israel, All rights reserved. 

MST #310 leaves on loan to West London Synagogue

MST Chair Jeffrey Ohrenstein hands the scroll to Rabbi David Mitchell of WLS

The Memorial Scrolls Trust is thrilled to report that our orphan scroll MST #310 was officially handed over on loan to West London Synagogue on the 18th of March, 2015. Rabbi David Mitchell and Wendy Pollecoff Woolf collected the scroll from the MST Museum and transported it carefully to the synagogue sanctuary.

MST #310 previously spent several years serving the Jewish community in Bangor, North Wales. ReverendMalcolm Weisman remembers that the scroll had its own aron hakodesh (ark) there and was kept for many years in the house of Isaac Pollecoff, Wendy’s great uncle.

The scroll will be officially welcomed at WLS on the 20th of March at the Kabbalat Shabbat service marking 175 years of liturgy at the synagogue. Asher Swidler will carry the scroll in, and the next day he will be the first to read from MST #310 for many years as he celebrates becoming Bar Mitzvah.

MST #310 has many years of work ahead, meeting thousands of students each year as part of their study of Judaism, Torah and the story of the Czech Scrolls. Mazal tov to all involved in this wonderful project!

MST #310 in the West London Synagogue Sanctuary

MST #444 & Mayor Teddy Kollek in Aspen

While working on some research about MST scrolls collected in Prague-Strasnice, we just came upon this little gem via the website of the Aspen Jewish Congregation in Colorado. The page that tells the history of the community has a note about its Torah scrolls and states:

ABOUT OUR TORAHS

 

Our first Torah came from the Westminster Synagogue in London. The torahs that were confiscated in the Prague and elsewhere in Czechoslovakia during WWll and survived the Holocaust were eventually sent to London to be restored. They created a registry know as the Memorial Scrolls Trust. We received one of those Torah scrolls on a perpetual loan.  Herman and Marty Edel flew to London and arranged for this first Torah to be shipped to Aspen. It was a historical and joyous event for the AJC. There was no ark, so Herb Weisbard built one by hand. The congregation got together and carved letters from the Ten Commandments on the ark doors. Mayor Teddy Kolek of Jerusalem was visiting Aspen, and he carved a letter, too. This is the very same Ark we use today.  

Mayor Teddy Kollek helped to build an ark to hold our scroll MST #444. Who knew?!

We love this story, and we love the folk in Aspen because they have also put a direct link to the MST website on that web page. Every one of our scroll-holders should be doing that! Have you done that yet? Why not?!