Temple Sholom’s Torah scroll travels to London
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Temple Sholom’s Torah scroll travels to London

Scribe Neil Yerman carries a Holocaust Torah scroll from Temple Sholom in Scotch Plains at a ceremony in London. (Courtesy Temple Sholom)
Scribe Neil Yerman carries a Holocaust Torah scroll from Temple Sholom in Scotch Plains at a ceremony in London. (Courtesy Temple Sholom)

In the 1960s, more than 1,500 Torah scrolls were found in a barn in Czechoslovakia, where the Nazis stored them after they destroyed the Jewish communities of Bohemia, Moravia, and surrounding areas. The scrolls were rescued and sent to London, where the Westminster Scrolls Trust restored them and loaned them as living memorials to Jewish communities all over the world. This year, the Trust celebrated its 60th anniversary, and the scroll at Temple Sholom in Scotch Plains went to London for the commemoration.

Temple Sholom’s scroll, acquired in 1976, comes from the town of Vlasim, now Czechia, about 45 kilometers southeast of Prague. It has become the congregation’s practice to read from this scroll on Shavuot, as teens there mark their confirmation.

Recently, long-time shul member Ellen Berman celebrated her adult confirmation and sponsored the restoration of a section of the scroll read on Shavuot. The restoration was done by the sofer — scribe — Neil Yerman. When the synagogue learned about the commemoration, it planned to send a delegation along with the Torah scroll, but those plans changed and Ms. Berman helped to send Mr. Yerman. She also sponsored a watch party for a live viewing of the commemoration for congregants and the religious school on February 4. They all saw Sofer Yerman on screen with the Torah, and enjoyed treats representing traditional fruits and vegetables grown in Israel.

The scroll will return to Scotch Plains, and the shul plans a commemoration with Sofer Yerman, who will talk about his experience. Another celebration is planned in New York City in April, and congregant Andrew Breit, chair of the temple’s Holocaust Commemoration Committee, plans to attend with the scroll. For more information, go to www.sholomnj.org.

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