The Story of Temple Emanu-El’s Czech Scroll

From Czechoslovakia to Reno....Sefer Torah #1142 is on permanent loan from the Memorial Scroll Trust to our congregation. This scroll is an orphan from an unknown town in Bohemia- Moravia and one of the 1154 surviving the Shoah.

For years people believed the Torahs and other ceremonial objects were looted by the Nazis, who intended to build a museum of an extinct race after they won the war. In 2008 the Jewish Museum in Prague discovered this was a myth as there are no documents or proof to support this theory. In 1942 after a lengthy negotiation with the Nazis, the Central Jewish Museum collected and saved 210,000 items of Judaica from 153 towns. For the duration of the war, the items were stored in 40 locations in central Prague. In 1948 the Torahs were moved to the disused Michle Synagogue.

In 1963 Eric Estoria, an English art dealer on a buying trip to Prague, was asked if he was interested in purchasing some Torahs. Mr. Estoria approached a member of the Westminster Synagogue, Ralph Lablon. Chilean Abramsky, a Hebrew and Jewish Studies professor, flew to Prague to authenticate the Scrolls and report on their condition. After receiving the report, Mr. Lablon generously agreed to fund the purchase. The Scrolls arrived in London on 7 February 1964. The Westminster Synagogue to whom they were donated established the Memorial Scroll Trust.

Over the last six decades, scribes have determined which scrolls could be made kosher by repair. Other scrolls were in such poor condition they could only be used for Hakafot at B'nei Mitvah, Kol Nideri, Simchot Torah, or Yom Hashoah. Many communities around the globe have been loaned scrolls. The scrolls again take their rightful place in Jewish life, teaching, encouraging, and, most importantly, reminding us of the six million who perished during the Shoah.

Herb and Bea Brown provided generous financial assistance to help acquire and transport the scroll from the Memorial Scroll Trust to Temple Emanu - El in 1993.

"EACH MEMORIAL SCROLL IS A MEMORY OF THE PAST AND A MESSENGER TO THE FUTURE "

Click on this link to learn more about the Memorial Scroll Trust.