T e Last Mitzvah
Left :
Dr. Eric Ray, a Torah scribe from New York, with the quill he used to write the first line of Genesis in what
will become Temple Israel's newest Torah.
Above:
Cantor Harold Orbach, Rabbi Harold Loss, Dr. Eric Ray and Rabbi Paul Yedwab.
Below:
Cantor Harold Orbach leads Temple Israel's junior choir.
t42
ast week, Dr. Eric Ray, a Torah scribe who is based in New
York, came to Temple Israel to begin scribing a new Torah for
the temple.
In a ceremony that included a procession of old and new
scrolls, Dr. Ray scribed the first line of Genesis. With their own
quills, Rabbis Harold Loss and Paul Yedwab and Cantor Harold
Orbach filled in the outlines of the letters of the first word,
"Bereishit," or "In the beginning."
The parchment scroll will leave for Israel with a portion of
Genesis written. There, another scribe will take over, almost
completing the Torah before it arrives back in West Bloom- • EF,
field next October. Dr. Ray will then finish the job
and the completed scroll will be dedicated and used
for services and life-cycle ceremonies. ❑
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