At Congregation Schaarai Zedek, our Holocaust Torah serves as a profound symbol of resilience, memory, and connection. This sacred scroll, saved from destruction during the Holocaust, is honored each year in a Yom Kippur ceremony that unites our community and reinforces our commitment to remembering those lost. The Torah’s presence among us is both a blessing and a reminder of the Jewish communities who once read from it and whose voices endure through our tradition.
Our Holocaust Torah, Sefer Torah number 618, is part of the Czech Memorial Scrolls Collection. This collection includes 1,564 Torah scrolls from Jewish communities across Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia, communities that were shattered during the Holocaust. These scrolls, once desecrated and looted by the Nazis, were preserved by the Czechoslovak government and became silent witnesses to history.
In 1963, with the cooperation of the Czechoslovak government, London art dealer Eric Estorick and a dedicated group of supporters arranged for the transfer of these scrolls to Westminster Synagogue in London. On February 7, 1964, the scrolls arrived in London, where they were cataloged and placed in trust to be made available on permanent loan to synagogues worldwide as living memorials to the communities they represent.
Congregation Schaarai Zedek is privileged to be one of the congregations chosen to care for one of these rare scrolls. Under the leadership of then-President Carl Zielonka, our synagogue acquired this Torah as a permanent loan, establishing a connection to the lost Jewish community of Kunta Hora, Czechoslovakia. Once a vibrant center of Jewish life, Kunta Hora was silenced by the Holocaust, and today, no Jewish presence remains there.
John Rosenberg, a member of our congregation, remembered visiting relatives in Kunta Hora as a young boy. To honor their memory and preserve this sacred link, John generously funded our application to bring this Torah to our congregation. Today, it resides in our Jacobsob Library, where it serves as a reminder of resilience and remembrance.
Since the arrival of the Holocaust Torah, our congregation has created a powerful tradition around it during Yom Kippur. In the early years, Holocaust survivor Sam Gross, along with former refugees William Blum and John Rosenberg, were the original carriers of the Torah. They would carry it down the aisle of our sanctuary, allowing congregants to reach out and touch it with their prayer books. This solemn act connected us directly to those who once read from this very scroll in Kunta Hora.
Today, during Yom Kippur morning services, we continue to read from this Torah, our voices joining those of generations past. This tradition serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to honor those lost and to carry forward the legacy of Jewish resilience.
In 1985, Congregation Schaarai Zedek commissioned a custom needlepoint cover for the Holocaust Torah, designed by artist Bonnie Yales, wife of Rabbi Cary Yales. This needlepoint was lovingly created through the combined efforts of our congregants, who volunteered their time and skill to bring this meaningful project to life.
Among those who contributed to this beautiful cover are Martin Adelman, Terry Aidman, Leslie Aidman, Barbara Alter, Karen Alter, Charlotte Berger, Phyllis Browarsky, Mary Byham, Donna Cutler, Florence Drooz, Lawrence Falk, Lucille Falk, Joan Farber, Nellye Friedman, Debbie Garber, Diane Goldfeder, Louis Goldfeder, Jane Goldman, Mort Goldman, Kay Jacobs, Barbara Kermisch, Irving Levine, Sylvia Livingston, Saundra Mendelson, Judy Manis, Leslie Osterweil, Midge Pasternack, Carol Peckett, Judith Rosenkranz (who also needlepointed the Hebrew letters and star), Franci Rudolph, Nancy Sher, Sara Nathan Stern, Millie Woolf, and Carl Zielonka.
The cover symbolizes our congregation’s love, unity, and dedication to preserving Jewish memory.
Our Holocaust Torah is more than a historical artifact; it is a sacred testament to the resilience of the Jewish people. Each year, it stands as a reminder of those we lost, but it also inspires us to carry their legacy forward. Through our Yom Kippur tradition, we continue to honor the memory of those who once cherished this Torah, affirming our commitment to keep their voices alive in our hearts and in the heart of our congregation.