18 | APRIL 27 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

T

hree and a half years ago, 
the Chabad Center of Troy 
opened with the goal of 
serving the Jewish community 
east of Woodward. Now, that very 
community will have its own Sefer 
Torah, its own Torah scroll, the 
holiest object of Judaism. 
The Troy and Eastside 
CommUnity Torah Campaign 
has launched — with a special 
opportunity for every Jew to take 
part in a tremendous celebration 
for the entire community. 
While in the process of designing 
the physical center in advance of its 
opening in March 2022, the center 
asked its woodworker to design an 
ark for a Torah. 
The catch: Due to the cost of a 
Torah, the center didn’t have one 
yet, even though it was a dream 
to have one. The idea was to have 
an ark for their monthly services 

and to borrow a Torah when they 
needed it.
At the grand opening of the 
center, community member Joy 
Silverstein saw the ark, opened it up 
and was shocked to see no Torah. 
Silverstein called the next morning 
and said she wanted to give the lead 
gift to sponsor the Torah. 
“A Torah costs upwards of 
$50,000, and she gave a very 
significant part to get [the process] 
started,” said Menachem Caytak, 
rabbi and executive director of 
the Chabad Center of Troy. With 
her contribution in mind, it will 
be named the Joy Silverstein 
Community Torah. 
That was last March and, after 
going through the important 
and not-so-simple process of 
commissioning a scribe to work on 
the scroll, the perfect scribe was 
found — and he finished it just over 
a month ago. 
Now they’re opening it up for 
the entire community to take part, 
Caytak says. 
Every part of the Torah, from the 
letters to the portions to the crown, 
can be endowed in honor or in 
memory of loved ones. 
For any and all dedications, 
individuals will have the unique 
opportunity to assist the sofer in 
writing one of the final letters, 
completing this historic Torah 
scroll. 
That will take place at a 
big dedication ceremony and 

celebration on May 21 to welcome 
the Torah into the Chabad house. 
“It’s a beautiful thing that 
everyone will be able to take part 
in,” Caytak said. 
“This is a community Torah, and 
anytime it will be used, and through 
everyone dedicating one letter at 
a time, we connect as an entire 
community in a very beautiful and 
spiritual way.”
Overall, Caytak hopes the entire 
community gets together and unites 
over the Torah.
“A community is not complete 
without a Torah. I think this is a 
real completion, and every time we 
take out and read from the Torah, 
it’s going to express unity and a 
reminder that this is something 
the entire community got together 
on.” 

Visit www.jewishtroy.com/torah to learn more 

and get involved in the campaign. 

The Chabad Center of Troy 
has commissioned a Sefer Torah 
and begun a campaign 
for the community.

The Torah of Troy

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Rabbi 
Menachem 
Caytak

Sofer 
Yitzchok 
Raskin with 
the new 
Torah