Rescued Torah finds new home on LBI

By Lauren Matthew

June 20, 2008

The JCC of Long Beach Island will receive a gift -- and a responsibility -- with the donation of a Torah scroll rescued from the Holocaust.

Martha and Chuck Schleifer and the family of Ethel Robin have secured a rescued Torah from an organization in Maryland called Save a Torah. The Torah will be given to the shul in honor of Robin, by the Schleifers and by Robin's family.

This Torah was rescued by Rabbi Menachem Youlus of the Save A Torah group from Lvov, a city formerly in Poland but is now in the Ukraine.

"Their house was being renovated; Ethel opened her home to them," explained JCC President Rose Valentine of the Schleifers.

The couple, she said, wanted to honor Robin, and have donated a rescued Torah before to their synagogue in Philadelphia.

Martha Schleifer said that she and her husband wanted the donation to be something lasting, and something that would contribute to learning. A donated Torah would be both of those things, she said, because "you can't just get it and stick it in a case."

"They started looking for a rescued Torah; we had a lot of trouble finding one, actually," Valentine said.

Chuck Schleifer said the search began in London. But finding a scroll like this is not an easy task. Kosher Torahs from the Holocaust era are either utilized in synagogues, when possible, or on display in museums and part of Shoah exhibits. Finding this particular scroll was a simple stroke of luck, Valentine said; she was in South Carolina and mentioned the search to a rabbi there when someone overheard the conversation and mentioned that their daughter worked for Save A Torah.

Save a Torah, based in Maryland, works to rescue and restore Torah scrolls hidden, lost, or stolen during the Holocaust and other upheavals before they are lost completely or beyond repair. Parchment does not last forever. Save A Torah has rescued at least 10 scrolls; their Web site notes that the list is constantly growing.

The group was able to locate a scroll for donation to the shul. The donation was underwritten by Doreen and Michael Greenberg in memory of Michael's parents, Valentine said.

This Torah was written approximately 95 years ago and dedicated in a town in Poland called Sombur. The sofer, or scribe, who wrote this Torah is believed to have died in the Holocaust. In 1940, this Torah and several others in the town were grabbed by the Nazis and thrown into a warehouse. The Torah remained there for over 50 years, and was picked up by an art dealer.

That art dealer was cutting pieces off of the scroll and selling them off as canvas, to be painted and drawn on. It is not a Kosher Torah any longer, and it will never be used on the bimah. Valentine described it as "not quite together," and noted that wooden dowels had to be added to the Torah so it could unfurl properly.

"It has holes in it, but it was not drawn on," Chuck said.

The synagogue has no plans on kashering it or repairing it, though according to information from Save A Torah, attempts were initially made to repair it. Damage was found to be too extensive.

"We tried very hard," Youlus wrote in an email explaining the condition of the Torah. "Several panels had a chemical poured on them in the past before we got to this Torah. As a result, those areas of parchment will not absorb any more ink. Those areas, though, do have some cracking and fading lettering."

Youlus also noted that the art dealer who had this Torah also has 51 others.

"You can't fix what was done in the Holocaust, so it shouldn't be fixed," Valentine said.

Valentine and the Schliefers said that the Torah will serve as a means of educating people on the topic of the Holocaust. The synagogue, Valentine said, has "a threefold responsibility" -- to keep the Torah safe, to display it properly, and to use it as a means of teaching.

"We can't take this gift without being responsible for taking care of it," Valentine said.

"[We] become the caretakers of this scroll," Martha said. "Nobody owns it. Who owns the Torah?" she asked with a laugh.

Valentine said that the shul is still deciding what verse of the Torah to display, but that an appropriate point will be chosen and the scroll opened to that point within its custom-made case.

There will be a formal dedication service on Friday evening, July 26, 2008 at 8 p.m. at the JCC, 15 E. 24th Street, Spray Beach. All are welcome.

"I think that our plan is that when we greet the Shabbat Queen, in our congregation we turn to the door... I think...  we will be having a procession with the Torah being brought in," Valentine said. "It should be something really very special."

For information about Save A Torah and the organization, visit http://www.saveatorah.org/.