Hakhnasat Sefer Torah

INAUGURATION OF A NEW TORAH:  DARKHEI NOAM, NEW YORK, MAY 15 2011:

On a drizzly Sunday morning in May, our community had the opportunity to come together to celebrate the acquisition of Darkhei Noam's first sefer torah.  The day included a Hakhnasat Sefer Torah Parade, Festive Torah Reading, Breakout Sessions, and a Festive Brunch.  To view the complete program, please click here. 

HAKHNASAT SEFER TORAH PARADE:

FESTIVE TORAH READING:

BREAKOUT SESSIONS:

Community Voices:  What is the "Torah" of Darkhei Noam?
Jeremy Burton, Orli Major, Amy Newman, Lina Sion, Dan Smokler and Mishael Zion

Community Text Study:  Matan Torah as a Perpetual Experience:  A Hlachic Imperative and a Kabbalistic Reality
Rabbi Ysoscher Katz
 

Community Recital and Musical Workshop
Aliza Wadler Nemirof

 ABOUT OUR NEW TORAH:

Originally written in pre-war Europe, our new sefer eventually made its way to Congregation B’nai Moshe, West Bloomfield, Michigan. Last year, the Sefer Torah was offered up for auction, where it was purchased by Darkhei Noam. The sefer was selected for the beauty and uniformity of its writing.

After purchase, a sofer sta”m (traditional scribe) corrected the sefer where needed, and refurbished it with new Atzei Hayim (literally “Trees of Life”, the traditional name for the wooden handles of the Torah).

When installing the new Atzei Hayim, the scribe noticed that under the parchment fastened to the original handles there was an inscription with the name of the original sofer, and the name of the Eastern European (Romanian?) town in which the sefer was written, and the year 1927. There are also the stamps of two “scribal proofreaders”. To find such an inscription on the actual parchment of a sefer is extremely rare.

May these new Atzei Hayim serve us well, together with the Torah they hold in place, in our community of Darkhei Noam, fulfilling the verses we recite when returning the Torah to the Ark each Shabbat:  “She is a tree of life to all that hold fast to her, and those who support her are happy. Her paths are Darkhei Noam, paths of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”
 

Thank you to the many community volunteers who gave generously of their resources to make this event happen, including:  Naomi Steinberger, Farah Farhadian, Aleeza Wadler Nemirof, Rachel Landsberg, Tzvi Mackson, Etta Abramson, Leor and Karen Sinai, Lina Sion, Neal Smolar, Mishael Zion, Bruce Goldberger, Allie Alperovich and Chaim Steinberger.
 

We thank Carol & Mel Newman and two anonymous community members for co-sponsoring this event.
 

We thank the anonymous donor who sponsored the the purchasing and refurbishing of the Sefer Torah.