Holocaust Torah Scroll

Temple Sinai is deeply fortunate and honored to be a custodian of a Czech Torah scroll which survived the Holocaust. This scroll is on indefinite loan to Temple Sinai  from the Memorial Scrolls Trust, an independent, not-for-profit organization situated in Kent House, at Westminster Synagogue in Knightsbridge, London. 

These Torah scrolls are survivors of the Shoah and silent witnesses to the atrocities that befell 6 million Jews in Europe less that 100 years ago.

Following on the heels of no less than three miracles, Temple Sinai has the honor of protecting scroll number 656. It was hidden in plain sight during WWII, escaping all of the atrocities which befell its original users.  Its last known congregation was the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague, but it may have been sent there from other parts of Bohemia. The Pinkas Synagogue still stands today and houses part of the Prague Jewish Museum’s collection.  The scroll was written in 1880, which makes it almost 140 years old!

The Memorial Scrolls Trust, MST, which is situated within the Westminster Synagogue in London, is a very small operation with a very big heart.  They want to ensure that the scrolls, on long-term loan to congregations such as ours, are used for education, prayer, and as a bridge for interfaith understanding.  There are 1000 other scrolls in the US, 450 in the NY metro area.