Torah to Commemorate Rashi’s 1st Yahrtzeit

It is hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since Rashi Minkowitz, shlucha, mother, daughter and wife has passed away. The shock and horror of her premature passing left a deep imprint on us all. We can each remember exactly where we stood, when we heard the tragic news. At that time, there was an international outpouring of grief; a sincere desire to do something, indeed anything, in her memory.

Since that time more than three-hundred-and-fifty Torah and Tea groups have sprung up throughout the world. The amount of chessed extended in her memory and the number of Mitzvos undertaken in her honor are truly beyond measure.

In Alpharetta, Georgia, where she lived, her family and community have launched an ambitious project – to build a beautiful campus for Chabad of North Fulton, dedicated in her memory. Some of the family’s old friends and classmates launched an additional project, the writing of a Sefer Torah in her memory. These two projects are melding in a beautiful way on Sunday, 17 Adar, March 8, at 1:00 PM, when the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Rashi Campus will be held together with the Siyum for ‘Rashis Torah’.

As the first Yahrtzeit draws closer and Groundbreaking/Siyum plans are fine-tuned, the classmates and friends invite the entire Anash community to participate in the writing of ‘Rashi’s Torah’. This Torah, which will be completed at the Yahrtzeit and groundbreaking ceremony in Alpharetta, will be presented to the family and the local Chabad House, where her husband, Yibodel L’chayim Tovim, Rabbi Hirshy Minkowitz and her boys will read from it regularly. The Sefer Torah will be small enough so that all her children, including the young ones, will be able to perform Hagbah and Glilah.

The Siyum is several weeks away and opportunities for dedications abound. If you would like to participate in this project, visit www.RashisTorah.org. There are multiple opportunities for dedications including letters, Psukim, Parshios or a sefer.

As the months go by and the initial outpouring of support wanes, life returns to its normal routine. It might be normal for others but not for her family and community. The Sefer Torah gives you a chance to make a lasting contribution that will remain with the family forever,

The Sefer Torah will eternalize the memory of a Shlucha taken from her family, her community and from us. A Shlucha who, in her lifetime, inspired a community and, with her passing, inspired the world.