September 16, 1989
Dedication of Our First Torah
Rabbi Sid Schwarz
The acquisition and dedication of Adat Shalom's first
sefer Torah is a major milestone in the history of our still
very young congregation. In a little over one year the
congregation raised the $6,000 needed to purchase a
scroll. I have never been involved in a fundraising
campaign that was easier. The desire of our members
and friends to contribute indicates our collective interest
in seeing Judaism perpetuated in a traditional yet dyn
namic way. Moreover, it is a sign of the great future
ahead of us at Adat Shalom, for when people care as
much about a communal undertaking as they obviously
do for Adat Shalom, they show that commitment by
giving of themselves and their resources. We have seen
that displayed again and again in our congregation.
The many people who made this day possible are acknowledged
on the last page of this booklet. They deserve our deepest
thanks. No less do we need to utter
the traditional shehechiyanu blessing to God, Source and
Creator of the Universe, who has kept us in life, sustained
us, and enabled us to reach this momentous occasion.
Rabbi Sidney Schwarz
The breastplate for the Torah Mantle illustrates
our congregation's name, Adat Shalom or Community
of Peace. It is contemporary in color,
shape, and feeling to represent a young, future-
oriented, and optimistic group of fellow worshippers.
The design concept for the Ark itself fuses
traditional and contemporary elements. The left
side of the menorah is a traditional shape,
whereas the right side represents a modern stylistic
menorah. This is much like Adat Shalom's
synthesis of traditional and contemporary elements
in its approach to Judaism. The Ark doors,
when closed to envelop the Torah, form the
branches of this unique menorah. On the specially
designed Ark stand, a complete menorah
appears.
~rizt S~ialbm Cagregatia
In lienor of ttie 6irtfi ~
~ennifer ~ppc~ieCSc~iwan;
~iargery an63im auer6acli
~uidan6~6ra ~ec~r
~ertnrcik L. ~5etman
In memory of~d~ward~ennan
Germrrii! ~. ~ennan
Intiaorofdb~iter~iat;qery
and ~iur6an63im auer6a~~
~bine Md~MeCCfieslbw
In memoty ofClbm and
~6mliam 'M/eitz
~Enie Culman
In memory of~iisgmndfattier,
rsiriine Le·wy
Irtrin and?li~resa ~riuofJ
~eor;qe andSusan ~iesen
In ~iaor oflnz andlluditli
Eisenstein
30natfian ~Epstein
In ~ionor c~f tlic wotuiktftr/
cot~anu ~zf~ii~t Stialbm
~Penee~a~ps
In memory ofSamueC~ar~as
Founding Rabbi Sid Schwarz
Congregation Update, Vol 1, No. 11, November, 1998
Our newest joint venture is to begin a drive to
raise money far the purchase of a Torah.
Congregation Har Shalom has been very generous
to loan us a Torah to this point, but we would like
to work toward having one of our own. To this
end, we encourage as many people as possible to
become 'Torah sponsors," by donating $100 or
more to the Torah fund. It seems fitting that the
first major gift the congregation will buy itself
will be a Torah, the centerpiece of our faith. As
with our other funds, contributions of lesser
amounts are certainly welcome - - any donation
made in honor or in memory of somewone will be
acknowledged with a card sent by our life cycle
committee. (If you want a card sent out, please
include with your donation the name and address of
the Person(s) to whom it should be sent.
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank past
contributions to previously established funds - -
the simcha fund, the memorial fund, the education
fund, the book fund.
At our last meeting, the Board adopted the
recommendation of the Religious Services
committee to set the standard donation amount for
siddurim and machzorim at $25 and for chumashim
at $50.
It has been very gratifying to see the congregation
benefit from peoples' generosity and to develop
our sense of community participation through
tzedaksh. As we work toward acquiring the
necessary "tools" for enhancing our prayer and
celebrations, we can enrich our path of spiritual
growth and understanding which is at the heart of
seeki ng to create a community together.
Sincerely,
Neil and Lisa Makstein, co-
Presidents
Dear Friends:
Last month in Neil and Lisa's Presidents' message
there was a list of funds which the board recently
approved. Each of these funds allows for a
different way for members or nonmembers to
mark significant occasions and to help the
synagogue. We will attempt to list these funds
periodically in the newsletter so that we call all
work to develop our tzedakah habit.
I want to highlight one particular fund now.
The Torah fund was established to enable Adat
Shalom to buy a Torah. Since our founding last
year, we have used borrowed scrolls. During the
year we have had a Torah on loan from Har
Shalom, the congregation down the street. On the
High Holydays we have imported a Torah from my
old congregation in MeSia, rannsylvania. Net only
is a Torah the most sacred possession of the
Jewish people, but acquiring one seems to me to
make a statement about where we are as a
congregation. It would be Adat Shalom's first
major purchase and would be a way of waying that
our congregation is past the stage of being an
experiment and is now on the road to placing itself
on a more solid foundation. Someone remarked
after the last Board meeting how strange it felt not
to have gotten a treasurer's report that raised the
question how we were going to meet the next
month's expenses. This too speaks to both the
generosity of our members and our collective
desire to see Adat Shalom flourish because of its
importance to our lives.
To commission a sefer Torah costs over
$20,000 because of the labor-intensive work of a
scribe doing the entire scroll by hand.
Fortunately there is a secondary market for
scrolls that have been sold off by other
congregations. Such scrolls, reconditioned to look
virtually new, cost between $5000 and $7000. A
few months ago, Sandy and I went to the lower east
side of New York and found a particularly
beautiful Torah that was available for $5500.
The sofer (scribe) agreed to hold it for Adat
Shalom until Pesach.
When a new Torah is commissioned it is a
Jewish custom for every member of every family
in the congregation to own the new scroll in some
way. Often, this is done by allowing individuals to
write a letter at the end of the scroll. Similarly,
would hope that everyone who feels part of Adat
Shalom seeks to do the same at this time to ehlp us
purchase our first Torah. The Board has
authorized the designation of "Torah Sponsor" for
every contribution of $100. When we have the
honor of dedicating our own Torah, every sponsor
will he recognized in !he progrs~7 prepared for
that special occasion. Now is the time to commit
yourselves, your children and even your extended
family and friends as Torah sponsors. It is a
mitzvah that you should feel privileged to partake
in. Contributions can be sent directly to the
synagogue address, and should mention the names
you would like to have listed.
Related to this, I also want to mention that we
are currently building an ark to hold our Torah.
Designed by Connie Krupin, the craftsmanship and
work is being organized and supervised by Ed
Gerstenfeld. If you are interested in helping to
build the ark (some of the work requires minimal
skill), please call Ed to volunteer your time
(530-7272).
Be' yedidut,
Sid
Rabbi's Message, Vol 2. No. 1, Feburary 1989
While we are on the subject of Torah, I am very pleased to see that members and
nonmembers have been responding to my appeal
to become Torah sponsors at $100 each. We need
to raise $6000 to buy our first Torah, and over $2000 has already come in. Since we have an
agreement with a sofer (scribe) in New York to
purchase a scroll that picked out by Passover, we
will be accelerating the drive during February
and March to make the purchase possible. You
may purchase a sponsorship in honor or in
memory of anyone or simply in your own name.
Consider having each family member as a
sponsor. David Kuney and Jeff Katz have
volunteered to chair the Torah fund drive and
will likely be in touch with you during the coming
weeks. Thank you in advance for making
possible the purchase of Adat Shalom's first
Torah.
Beyedidut Sid