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Holocaust Torah Scroll

Holocaust Torah Restoration Project

Our Holocaust Memorial Scroll is one of 1,564 scrolls recovered in Prague after the Holocaust.  

It dates back to the late 1700s and is one of the last remaining artifacts of the Jewish community of Prestice. It was given on permanent loan to Temple Sinai in March 1990.  Marred by holes, missing letters, and seams that needed to be re­sewn, the scroll sat in a display case for 25 years and was only taken out for Holocaust memorial events.

In 2014 the congregation hired Rabbi Kevin Hale, a trained sofer STaM or Torah scribe to evaluate and restore the precious scroll to a useable condition.  On October 4, 2015, after an incredible year of emotional scribing and related programming, Temple Sinai celebrated the siyyum of the long awaited restoration project Czech Memorial Scroll Number 655 now sits in a place of honor on Temple Sinai’s bimah and is used for simchas as well as for Holocaust memorial events. We remember the community of Prestice each year on the Shabbat closest to November 26, 1942, the date of the community’s final transport to the death camps. We rejoice that their Torah scroll lives on and that they will never be forgotten.

The Story of Czech Memorial Scrolls

For more information on the Memorial Scrolls Trust please visit www.memorialscrollstrust.org.    

We hope you'll enjoy this video montage of our year long Holocaust Torah Restoration Project:

Tue, March 19 2024 9 Adar II 5784