HOME
CONTACT US
CALENDAR BULLETIN
SO NU?
RABBI'S STUDY
PROGRAMS
EDUCATION
HISTORY
INSIDE TEMPLE
LINKS
Order
the CD AVANIM: A ROCK SHABBAT online!
"TOO JEWISH" RADIO SHOW
The Linda Nadell Centennial Torah
Read more about the project here!
It starts with a single character: Bet, the letter of beginning.
From this point characters flow, words grow, sentences appear. A scroll of supreme meaning and ineffable beauty emerges.
It is the Torah, heart-text of Jewish life.
Each letter is formed with superb care, each line measured and balanced.
Every single character is holy. Its words are words of truth, all its paths are peace.
A year of a man’s life is poured onto the parchment. But a Torah itself lasts for a lifetime and more: a century.
It takes a year to write a Torah. But the memories of that experience last forever.
The Torah is chanted each week, kissed and blessed at bar and bat mitzvahs, joyfully present at weddings and conversions, held as a sacred trust at Kol Nidrei, danced with at Simchat Torah.
You can have a synagogue without a building. You can have a congregation without a rabbi. You cannot have a temple without a Torah.
For a century the Torah has kept our congregation whole. For three millennia the Torah has kept our people alive and vibrant.
The writing of a new Torah is a journey, a step-by-step process that begins with an act of breisheet, creation, and concludes with the joy of a siyyum, a completion ceremony.
From the first letter to the last, creating a new Torah fulfills a sacred trust.
You can now be part of that amazing journey.
100 generations of Jews have held Torah in their souls. For 100 years our congregation has made Torah its center.
And now we will create a new Torah for all the generations to come.
Why we need a new Torah
While the parchment that a Torah is written on is remarkably durable, and the special permanent ink that the scribe uses comes from an ancient formula in the Talmud, even a Torah will eventually wear out. Constant use eventually relegates a Torah to purely ceremonial purposes.
When a Torah can no longer be read properly it becomes pasul, still holy and beautiful but no longer appropriate (or, technically legally kosher) for reading purposes during a religious service.
We need to be able to read and chant the exact words of Torah correctly, and regularly.
Although we own 9 Torahs of various ages and conditions—some well over a hundred years old—our congregation has just two kosher Torahs, one of which is on the very edge of readability. We often need two scrolls for reading purposes, and on holidays three.
Upon completion, the Centennial Torah will be at the very heart of Temple’s life and ritual, read from regularly, fulfilling a fundamental purpose of our congregation.
About Linda Nadell
Linda Nadell was the president of our congregation from 2008 until her untimely and tragic death in 2009. Deeply devoted to Temple Emanu-El and in the midst of Temple life and leadership for forty years, Linda loved Temple and its great legacy as the pioneer of Judaism in Arizona, a legacy she helped renew and perpetuate.
She had dreamed and carefully planned to be president during our Centennial year, and viewed it as the pinnacle of a life devoted to service. When she took ill shortly after assuming the presidency she had anticipated with such joy it was a tremendous shock to the entire Temple family. When she passed away in August of 2009 it was a profound loss to Temple Emanu-El and the entire Jewish community of Southern Arizona.
We have chosen to dedicate this Centennial Torah to her blessed memory, as a way to continue her great legacy of devoted and creative service.