Iceland welcomes its first permanent Torah scroll
The final letters of the Torah were written at a reception at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Iceland, Jeffrey Ross Gunter, who is Jewish
There was dancing in the streets of Reykjavik this week as Iceland’s tiny Jewish community marked the first completion and inauguration of a Torah scroll in the
island nation.
The scroll, inscribed in part by community members, was paraded down Laugavegur, the capital’s main street, with celebrations continuing at the home of the US ambassador, who is Jewish.
Until the May 2018 arrival of Rabbi Avi and Mushky Feldman of Chabad, Iceland had no full-time Jewish institutional presence, although temporary synagogues were set up during the Second World War by Jews fleeing Nazi Europe.
“Until now we’ve been borrowing the Torah scroll we read every Shabbat morning,” said Feldman. “We’re very excited to finally have our own.”
The scroll was donated by Uri Krauss of Zurich for his 50th birthday as he wanted it to have impact so began researching and came across Iceland’s infant community. His family were in Reykjavik to witness the occasion.
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