Chabad of The Woodlands Celebrates New Torah

For the small but devout congregation of Chabad of The Woodlands near Houston, TX, Sunday was a day for song and dance as the group ceremoniously inducted a new Torah scroll for use at their synagogue for the first time in its history.

The last lettering of the Torah scroll was finished in the home of Rabbi Mendel Blecher and his wife Leah on Overlake Drive. Members of the congregation enjoyed refreshments shortly before the procession began, which involved traditional Hebrew song and dance through the streets from their home on Overlake Drive to Chabad of The Woodlands on Budde Road.

Aside from the procession, the event also featured a buffet lunch, live music, a Kids Torah Workshop and a moon bounce. Blecher said the participation level from the local Jewish community was “outstanding” and is a testament to the growth the congregation has seen since he founded Chabad of The Woodlands three years ago.

“We moved here really not knowing anyone,” Blecher said. “We’ve seen the addition of adult education programs, Hebrew Enrichment Program, our summer camp has doubled and we had to lease the building on Budde Road because our previous location was simply too small.”

Events and programs at Chabad are intended to offer a chance for members of the Jewish community to “explore their heritage,” Blecher said.

“We invite them to, at their own pace and their own comfort level, educate themselves on the practices and studies of the Torah,” Blecher said.

The Torah that the congregation brought to Chabad was sponsored by the Rips family, and originally came from a synagogue that had been closing down, Blecher said. The Torah was in good shape and featured good workmanship, but one section was replaced and the process was finished during the ceremony Sunday afternoon.

Debra Rips, a Spring resident, said she couldn’t think of a better way to honor her parents than to buy Chabad of The Woodlands a Torah. She had visited the congregation during the holidays and said she was so motivated by Rabbi Blecher’s words and was disheartened to learn the congregation did not have a Torah to call their own.

“I told the Rabbi I was willing to donate a Torah to help you if it would be in memory of my parents, Irving and Grace Bernice Rips,” Rips said. “My father was active when he was in Los Angeles, and if he were alive today he would have donated the money for the Torah and I couldn’t think of any better way to honor their memory.”

Rips first emphasized to Blecher that she didn’t want her name on it, but settled on having the name of her parents on the dedication.

“Everything revolves around the Torah, so I thought every time they used it, a little piece of my parents would be part of it,” Rips said.