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The Linda Nadell Centennial Torah
Concluding Siyyum
Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 9:30 am
One the great experiences in Jewish life is the
privilege and pleasure of seeing a new Torah completed.
The Linda Nadell Centennial Torah of Temple Emanu-El,
celebrating the 100th Anniversary year of Arizona's first Jewish congregation,
will reach its Siyyum Dedication ceremony on Sunday, August 29, 2010 at
9:30 AM in the Rubin Family Sanctuary of the Temple.
During this unique celebration the Scribe of the Torah scroll, the
sofer Rabbi Shmuel Miller, along with a few honored members of the
congregation, will fill in the final letters of the Linda Nadell Centennial
Torah on the last section of parchment in Deuteronomy, final book of the
Torah.
Although it is one of the holiest moments in all of
Judaism all are invited to attend the Siyyum Celebration.
As Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, notes,
"The Siyyum is an amazing experience, absolutely unique. It is the
completion of a year of a learning, labor, inspiration, and celebration."
The new Torah is being dedicated to the memory of
Linda Nadell, Immediate Past President of Temple Emanu-El who passed away in
2009 from cancer during her tenure as president.
Upon its completion, the Torah will be placed in the congregation's
Ark. Temple Emanu-El's Adult and
Teen Choirs will add musical beauty to the sacred celebration.
This joyous occasion is open to the everyone at no charge. The Siyyum will be held Sunday, August 29 at 9:30 am in the Rubin Family Sanctuary at Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club Road, just north of Broadway. The ceremony, which will include a short video that chronicles the writing of the Linda Nadell Centennial Torah, will be followed by a reception with delicious refreshments. Please join us! For more information call (520) 327-4501.
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.