Governor Cuomo Sends Best Wishes for New Torah

On Sunday, April 1, Chabad of Orange County, New York hosted a Gala Torah Celebration – completing, dedicating and welcoming their first and very own Torah Scroll. The historic event was held at the Chabad Center in Chester.

More than 300 celebrants gathered in an elegantly decorated tent outside the Center, where there was a festive buffet, live music by Monroe musician David Dixler and special Torah-themed children’s activities.

The Torah scroll is one of the Jewish people’s most sacred objects. When a scroll is completed it calls for great celebration by the community greeting it to its new home.

Upon a stage sat a scribe as community members, along with the scribe, inscribed the final letters of the Torah.

“Torah is what we are all about,” says Gil Goetz of Monroe, who serves as president of Chabad’s Board of Directors.

“Torah is what we all have in common, Torah is what brought us here together, and Torah is the heart of all of Chabad’s programs and activities” he explained.

As the final letters were inscribed, Rabbi Pesach Burston, director of Chabad of Orange County explained the significance of participating in sponsoring and writing in the Torah.

“What do you think the most important letter in the Torah is?” he asked.

One person said it was the first; another the last.

“The truth is,” he said, “The most important letter is your letter: since the Torah cannot be complete without it!”

While waiting for the newly inscribed ink to dry, prayers and blessings were recited and a letter was read from Governor Andrew Cuomo, written to Chabad in honor of the event.

Rabbi Pesach then addressed the celebrants.

“Although I lost $640 million dollars,” he joked about losing Friday’s record lottery, “we have not lost our wealth!” “The real wealth of a man is not measured by his home, car or yacht – but by a life of Torah, meaning, values and principals. Today, with the new Torah, we are celebrating just how rich we are!” and emphasized how Torah can enrich one’s life.

Rabbi Burston acknowledged that “The Torah Scroll and celebration has been made possible through the generosity of the greater Orange County Jewish Community and the family of David and Beatrice Kaplan, who have dedicated this Torah in their memory and to the Chabad of Orange County Community – the community which we serve and love,” and thanked the many community sponsored who participated in the Torah.

Special recognition was given to Mrs. Shifrah Gellman, who initiated the Torah and sponsored a significant part of the Torah in memory of her parents, David and Beatrice Kaplan.

A three-generational duet ensued when Rabbi Pesach, along with his eldest son Duvy, sang a meaningful song about a Torah, as Rabbi Pesach’s father, Rabbi Chaim Burston, accompanied on the piano.

Chana Burston then told a beautiful story about the survival of the Torah from the Holocaust, and the sacrifices the Jewish people have endured in order to hold onto its traditions.

“The Torah continues to unify and uplift Jewish communities across the globe, just as it is uniting and inspiring us here in Orange County today,” she told the audience.

Following the Torah completion, the Torah was raised for all to see, dressed in its new mantel, and was paraded, under a chuppah-canopy and with a lively parade procession into its new home, the Chabad Center, where there was lively dancing and festive desserts.

“This Torah will be the next link in a long chain reaching back to Sinai, and forward into the 21st century,” Rabbi Pesach Burston said, “May we always celebrate happy occasions!

May this Torah bring blessing, unity, joy, continuity, freedom and meaning into our homes and community!”