The Torah
The Torah is the most sacred religious article in Jewish life. It is perfectly intact just as we received it some 3,300 years ago at Mt. Sinai. It forms a timeless connection to the past and is the key to a Jewish future. It evokes something special in our hearts, as it represents the unbroken chain of Jewish tradition and survival.
The Torah scroll is hand-written by a Sofer- a scribe- on parchment, a detailed process that can take over a year to complete. Everything from the character of the scribe to the quality of the parchment and type of ink are carefully prescribed. The shape and size of each of the 304,808 letters, as well as the spacing of the lines and empty space, must be perfectly done by hand.
When a new Torah is welcomed into a community it is a tremendous honor and blessing to the community and to the souls of those in whose memory the Torah is dedicated.
Peter Remsen’s Torah
Peter Remsen was born in 1945 with Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes a range of developmental problems including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment. He was raised by his parents Charles and Zelda in Brooklyn, New York and later lived in the first group home for people with intellectual disabilities in Astoria, Queens. Despite his disabilities, Peter lived life to the fullest and was happiest when the family was together during the Jewish holidays. Later in his life when Peter became ill, he was cared for by his brother and sister-in-law Dr. Kenneth and Erika Remsen. The family’s dedication of the Torah in Peter’s namesake is to inspire the joy of Yiddishkeit in perpetuity throughout our community.
A Team Effort
The move to the new Chabad at Midtown location and the community's continued growth brought the need to purchase a new Torah for our synagogue. With a generous grant from the Remsen family we were able make a down payment and secure a brand new Torah.
The new Torah will inspire caring and sharing within our community. Following Peter’s legacy of goodwill and brotherhood, the Remsen family asked this to become a team effort and has agreed for members of the community to participate in the sponsorship and purchasing of the new Torah.
One Torah, One People
Every Jewish soul is represented in one of the letters of the Torah. Just as each letter of the Torah is essential to its integrity- its absence invalidating the entire scroll- so are each and every one of us critical to the whole Jewish nation. Without labels or differences, regardless of background or affiliation, the Torah connects us to each other, one letter at a time, making us “One People.”
The Torah’s 613th mitzvah/commandment is for each of us to write a Torah scroll. This mitzvah can be observed by commissioning the writing of at least part of the Torah scroll. By dedicating a letter, word, verse, or chapter in the Torah for yourself, your family members or friends, or in memory of departed loved ones, it is considered as if you have written your very own Torah scroll.
