Leo Baeck College adopts historic Czech Memorial Scroll
"An orphan scroll, a legacy of the Shoah", the Brno Sefer Torah was written in Czechoslovakia in the 1880s
The UK’s only Progressive Jewish rabbinic seminary adopted a Czech Memorial scroll into its community at a moving ceremony at Westminster Synagogue on 6th September.
The Brno Sefer Torah, also known as Scroll no. 163, was written in former Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic in the 1880s.
It was presented on loan by Jeffrey Orenstein, chair of the Czech Scroll Memorial Trust, to Rabbi Dr. Deborah Kahn Harris and Rabbi Dr. Charles Middleburgh from Leo Baeck College at the Memorial Scrolls Trust Offices in London.
The scroll will now be used regularly for Torah readings at shacharit.
Rabbi Middleburgh, the Dean of Leo Baeck College, led the service, sharing the history of the Jews in Brno (around 100 miles southeast of Prague) which dates back to medieval times.
He said: “All of us at Leo Baeck recognize the significance of taking in an orphan scroll, a legacy of the Shoah, and giving it a new and loving home. We are deeply grateful to the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust for this precious loan.”
The Memorial Scrolls Trust have 1,564 scrolls in their collection. They were rescued from across towns and villages in former Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic and donated to the Westminster Synagogue in February 1964 by philanthropist Ralph Yablon.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
