(Courtesy of Chabad of West Orange) Chabad of West Orange welcomed a brand-new Torah scroll on Sunday, June 11. The Torah was generously donated by Philip and Shirley Levitan in loving memory of their parents, Lewis & Leah Levitan and Rabbi Leizor Shmuel & Bella Septytor.
Nearly 120 community members, friends and relatives attended the event. The final letters were written on the scroll. The Torah was then raised for all to see and covered with a beautiful purple velvet cover and silver crown. After that, all the Torahs were brought out of the ark to “greet” the new Torah. Rabbi Mendy Kasowitz led the community in eight hakafot (circuits around the bima) with music, singing and dancing. The ceremony and celebration was followed by a lavish dairy buffet enjoyed by all.
“There is no better way to remember our parents and their devotion to Torah and Yiddishkeit, then to have a Torah scroll written and dedicated in their memory”, said Phil Levitan. “I am so thankful to Hashem for enabling Shirley and me to perform this mitzvah, the 613th and final mitzvah in the Torah, in honor of our parents”.
For more information about Chabad of West Orange, please visit www.chabadwestorange.com.
