Grand Torah Celebration

press release: Madison’s Jewish community will be completing and welcoming a brand new Torah scroll with a unique and celebratory ceremony on Sunday, September 1, starting at Hotel RED and parading to Chabad of Madison.

Members of the Jewish community will have the opportunity to be assisted by a certified ritual scribe in using a skillfully-tuned quill to ink in the final letters of the magnificent scroll.

Upon completion of the final lettering, the Torah scroll will be paraded through the streets under a traditional canopy in a joyous procession that will include music and dancing. The Torah scroll will be housed in Chabad of Madison where it will be used for Shabbat and Holiday services, notably, the upcoming two-day holiday of Rosh Hashanah beginning this year in the evening of Sunday, September 30.

An authentic Torah scroll is an intricate masterpiece of labor and skill, comprising between 62 and 84 sheets of parchment that are cured, tanned, scraped and prepared according to exact specifications mandated by Jewish law. Containing precisely 304,805 letters, the resulting handwritten scroll takes months to complete with even a slight error rendering it entirely void.

This particular Torah scroll was primarily written by a scribe in Israel and was commissioned for the Madison Chabad Jewish Community.

"This Torah scroll from the Land of Israel is a beautiful addition to our community as it represents the unbroken chain of Jewish tradition and survival,” said Rabbi Avremel Matusof, rabbi at Chabad of Madison, the organization facilitating the writing of the Torah scroll and hosting the event. “The ancient though timeless wisdom contained in this scroll is the essence of our identity as Jews.”

Sponsored by the Marcovich family and numerous other local members of the Jewish community, the scroll is dedicated in memory and honor of many loved ones.

“This Torah reprsents the many blessings that have come into our lives and our wish to share them with our ever-growing local Jewish community. May we all increase our Torah study and performance of good deeds." Said Dr. Weiss one of the Torah sponsors.

A festive community luncheon and entertainment for children will follow the dedication ceremony. The entire community is encouraged to attend.

For more information about the Grand Torah Celebration and Chabad of Madison, visit www.ChabadMadison.com/newTorah