Community at Temple Israel
Rabbi’s Message – October 26, 2023
Earlier this year I had the sacred honor of bringing our Czech Torah scroll to Cleveland for a small reunion of scrolls from Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. In January 2024, we will all have the opportunity to participate in an even larger reunion of scrolls. In honor of the 60th anniversary of the donation of over 1500 Torah scrolls from Czechoslovakia after WWII to the Westminster Synagogue, we will celebrate by returning to London with our scroll. Together with other members of the greater Dayton Jewish community and their scrolls, we will experience the modern revival of Judaism in Hungary, explore the history of Jewish artifacts in Prague, and participate in the celebration of the Torah scroll reclamation project. Additional highlights of our trip will include an architectural tour of Budapest, a nighttime cruise on the Danube River, visits to beautifully restored synagogues, and time to explore favorite spots in London. Click here to learn the details of the Europe 2024 Trip.
Please consider joining me in January. This is a significant opportunity for us to bear witness to those synagogues destroyed by the Holocaust and to view, with hope, the many thriving communities carrying on their legacies. It is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.
For those unfamiliar with our scroll, it is originally from the city of České Budějovice, (CHES-kuh BUD e-OH-vit-zeh), a large town on the Vltava (‘vǝltǝvǝ) River about 90 miles from Prague. It was once the capital of Southern Bohemia and part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire now in the Czech Republic. Jews had lived there since the 14th century but today, all that remains of the Jewish community in Ceske Budejovice is a stone monument to mark where its ornate Gothic synagogue, built in 1868, once stood. Our scroll is one of nine that comes from České Budějovice. Six scrolls, including ours, reside here in the United States, 1 in Canada, and 2 in England.
Learn more about Temple Israel’s Czech Torah scroll.
Learn more about the Jewish community of České Budějovice.