Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

With great fanfare and joy, a brand new Torah scroll was ceremoniously inaugurated for use by The Shul of Bellaire, on Sunday, Aug. 29.

The Torah scroll was dedicated during a formal ceremony at The Shul 5307 Bissonnet St., in Bellaire, and followed by a procession with live music and dancing. The final letters of the scroll, which contains more than 304,800 individually hand-written letters, were inscribed by world-renowned scribe Rabbi Moshe Klein, who flew in from New York for the event.

The dedication of the Torah is a major milestone for The Shul, now in its 11th year since its founding. The Torah serves as a permanent anchor of The Shul and the community, Rabbi Yossi Zaklikofsky said.

The generous support and involvement of so many community members is indicative of the deep impact The Shul is having on so many Jewish families of all backgrounds and affiliations in the Bellaire area, making Judaism a relevant and meaningful part of their lives.

Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg writes a letter in the new Torah.

Timeless laws apply to the entire process from the character of the scribe to the quality of the parchment and type of ink. Furthermore, the shape and size of each of the 304,808 letters, as well as the spacing of the lines and empty space, must be perfectly done by hand. The slightest error may void an entire segment or even the entire 54 portions.

Jewish tradition says that a new Torah is to be welcomed into a community just as one welcomes a bride and groom. Accordingly, the scroll was carried under a wedding canopy (chuppah) during the processional to The Shul and was accompanied by live music and dancing, before being placed in the Holy Ark at The Shul.

The Torah was dedicated by Jack Sinuk and family, in loving memory of his parents, Raphael and Lila Sinuk. A number of community members dedicated one book of the Five Books of Moses, a parsha, verse or a word, honoring themselves or a loved one.

Jack Sinuk holds the Torah as Larry Friedman and Clive Fleishman place the Crown and yad onto the Torah.

After the passing of my mother I wanted to return to my Jewish spirituality. I moved back into Bellaire and I was looking for the closest shul. It was The Shul of Bellaire. I met Rabbi Yossi.

His approach to attending Saturday morning services reminded me of an old Alka Seltzer commercial. He said, Try it, youll like it. So, I tried it and I liked it. It was baby steps for me. I started attending once a month, then twice a month. Now, I never miss a Sabbath unless I am out of town.

Others in attendance enjoyed the joyful celebration.

Doreen and I are proud to continue to support and share in The Shul of Bellaires journey, Marshall Lerner said. From the first time we met Rabbi Yossi and Esty in 2009, they have inspired us and many others in the Houston Jewish community.

We look forward to The Shul having a permanent home with ample space for learning and for worship so that many more community members can benefit from its education and inspiration.

Seventh-grade Trafton Academy student, Allie Zilberman, is preparing for her Bat Mitzvah at The Shul of Bellaire in January.

Over the years of my attending Bellaire Hebrew School and the Bat Mitzvah Club, I have gained a lot of Torah wisdom, but now as my Bat Mitzvah is fast approaching, I have been thinking more deeply about the value of Torah, and how lucky I am to have access to the Torahs timeless wisdom, Allie said.

This is especially true in todays challenging world. No matter what is going on, I know that I can always turn to the Torahs messages to help guide me in my life.The completion of a new Torah is a sign that Judaism is alive and thriving, and that makes me feel proud to be a Jew.

Seventh-grade Trafton Academy student, Allie Zilberman, is preparing for her Bat Mitzvah at The Shul of Bellaire in January.

Continued here:

The Shul of Bellaire welcomes new Torah with big celebration - Jewish Herald-Voice

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