“It is a positive commandment for every Jew to write a Sefer Torah. If he writes it with his own hand, it is as if he had received it from Sinai. And if he hasn’t the expertise to write one, he should commission someone else to write it for him. Anyone who corrects even one letter of a Sefer Torah, it is as if he had written it entirely…”
~ The Mishna Torah

The most sacred possession of any synagogue is the Torah.
It is our Holy Writ and our strongest reminder of our relationship with G-d and our people. The Torah inspires us and guides us and we study her words each day. Our scrolls are not only the foundation of our heritage but a legacy passed down to us by previous members of our community. With the Torah, we preserve the link to our past ‘from generation to generation.’

THE WRITINGThe most sacred possession of any synagogue is the Torah. It is our Holy Writ and our strongest reminder of our relationship with G-d and our people. The Torah inspires us and guides us and we study her words each day. Our scrolls are not only the foundation of our heritage but a legacy passed down to us by previous members of our community. With the Torah, we preserve the link to our past ‘from generation to generation.’

The Writing…

The Torah contains 54 sections which are read weekly during the year. There are 5845 verses with about 600,000 letters; one letter for each Jew who stood at Sinai. There are 248 columns; each column contains 42 lines, with a minimum of 30 letters per line. The Torah is written today as it was 3000 years ago, using parchment made from specified sections of the hides of kosher animals. The sheets of parchment are sewn together with special thread. The ink must be black and durable, and contain only natural ingredients. The writing is performed only with reeds or quills. Even the calligraphy is prescribed by tradition.

The Restoration…

Congregation B’nai Jacob’s current Torahs have over the years developed smudges, faded letters, and a build up of dust. A Torah is not considered fit for use if extra letters or words are added, if any letter or word is omitted, if a word is illegible or misspelled, or if any letters touch one another. In order to ensure that our Torah scrolls are kosher for use, they require restoration. The last time this was done in our community was 40 years ago. On December 13, 2009, Rabbi Moshe Klein of Brooklyn, New York, will be coming to our community to continue this major ongoing project, which began in August. Rabbi Klein was born in Jerusalem, studied at the Yeshiva Betz, and became a scribe (sofer) at age 17. He and his brother represent the fourth generation of scribes in their family.

How you can participate…

On December 13, Rabbi Klein will give each adult and child of our community a chance to be a part of the actual writing process. In addition, in order to help fund this project, we have included a pledge form that explains how you can honor a loved one or memorialize a family member or event. By dedicating a restored word, line, verse, column, parsha, or even an entire Torah, each of us can dedicate a sacred memorial to a loved one, record a simcha, or honor ourselves, our families or our loved ones in a distinctly Jewish manner. For instance, you may wish to dedicate the Torah portion from your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, or perhaps remember another Torah portion that is particularly meaningful to you or your family.

Whether you choose to make a contribution or not, we hope everyone will join us
in this once in a lifetime opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll.

Everyone in our community is invited to participate by dedicating a portion of the restoration
and participating in the writing of our Torah.

Participation in the Restoration Sessions will take place on December 13, 2009 at Congregation B’nai Jacob.

Examples of Selections for restoration
(We'll soon post a link HERE to an order form for additional selections and directions for requests)


Entire Torah (five books)...................$5400

One of the five Books of the Torah...................$1800

Ten commandments ...................$1000

Sh’ma ...................$1000

7 days of creation (all) ...................$1000

High Holiday Torah Readings
Rosh Hashanah (1st Day) ...................$500
Rosh Hashana (2nd Day) ...................$500
Yom Kippur (Morning) ...................$500
Yom Kippur (Afternoon) ...................$500

Parsha (weekly portion) ...................$250
Column ...................$100
Verse ...................$ 36
Line ...................$ 18
Word ...................$ 10



Contact Rabbi Urecki by e-mail or phone
304-346-4722