Schenectady Synagogue Donates Traveling Torah to the United States Army
Congregation Beth Israel, a modern Orthodox congregation based in Schenectady, NY, has answered a call from a rabbi stationed at the U.S. Army base in Fort Drum, NY, for a Torah to help Jewish servicemen and women continue their prayers to the fullest extent possible.
“This Torah we are donating is upwards of 100 years old,” said Debbie Gatoff, president of Congregation Beth Israel. “Rather than sitting idle in our synagogue we are happy that it will now be in active service for our military men and women. This will be the sixth Torah Congregation Beth Israel has given to synagogues or schools around the globe.”
“On behalf of the officers and congregants of Beth Israel synagogue in Schenectady, I am happy and proud to present this Torah to Rabbi Chaplain Moshe Lans and to the Jewish members of our military forces,” said Dr. Al Finkel, the Gabbai (Sextant) of Congregation Beth Israel. “May this Torah be used to teach peace and brotherhood wherever it may be found.”
“We need this so much for our soldiers,” said Leah Bracha (Laurie) Lans, Rebettzin of the Fort Drum Jewish Congregation and a retired Lt. Commander Intelligence Officer with the U.S. Navy. “You’re such a kiddush Hashem!” (Kiddush Hashem means a religious or moral act that causes others to reverence G-d especially by any action where a Jew brings honor, respect and glory to G-d as a sanctification of His name.)
Congregation Beth Israel has a long tradition of honoring our fellow Jews in the military. The Torah is being accepted by Rabbi Moshe Lans, the Jewish Chaplain at Fort Drum, on behalf of the Surfside, FL-based Aleph Institute, a non-profit that has a federal contract with the U.S. Army.
The donated Torah is pasoul (imperfect) and will need to be repaired by a sofer, a scribe, trained in writing a proper Torah that is deemed kosher. The strict respect for the rules of scribing extends through the frame of mind and preparedness of the scribe, the formation of the letters, the origin and condition of the parchment, the writing equipment and ink, the use of the copyist’s guide – even to the requirement for scribes to sing the letters as they write.
The leadership of the Aleph Institute has agreed to have the Torah repaired and transferred to Rabbi Lans after he begins his next tour of duty at Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas.
Chaplain (MAJ) Rabbi Moshe Lans, U.S. Army said: “On behalf of my Ecclesiastical Endorser, The Aleph Institute, I express my hakarat hatov (gratitude) to Congregation Beth Israel for giving a sefer Torah to Jewish military service members. I am incredibly humbled to be The Aleph Institute’s first custodian of the sefer Torah. Having a sefer Torah enriches davening by fulfilling mitzvot that are otherwise impossible without one. For orchestrating the sefer Torah’s donation I want to offer a hearty and sincere Yasher Koach (Increased strength) to Marc Gronich. This is a continuation of our tradition in honoring our men and women in uniform.”
Rabbi Sanford Dresin, Chaplain (COL) Retired, The Aleph Institute’s Ecclesiastical Endorser and Director of Military Programs stated: “As the Endorser of the Aleph Institute, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Congregation Beth Israel for generously donating a Torah scroll for the use of Jewish military service members both currently serving and in the future. The Torah represents the soul of the Jewish people and in gifting such a precious item to our service members, you are reminding them who they are, what they represent and that the Jewish people are forever proud and grateful of their service to our country.”
One particular scribe, Mordecai Pinchas, says he connects the writing of a Torah with nature as a force of life. The ink he uses is based on the concentrated tannic acid found in the gall nut of an oak tree. He uses a quill made from a domesticated turkey feather as a feather from a bird of prey would not do, given its association with death.
