A Torah that Took a Pilgrimage

Fascinating story in the New York Times this morning about a Torah that took a pilgrimage from Auschwitz to New Jersey:

"It is the story of a sexton in the synagogue in the Polish city of Oswiecim who buried most of the sacred scroll before the Germans stormed in and later renamed the city Auschwitz. It is the story of Jewish prisoners who sneaked the rest of it — four carefully chosen panels — into the concentration camp.

It is the story of a Polish Catholic priest to whom they entrusted the four panels before their deaths. It is the story of a Maryland rabbi who went looking for it with a metal detector. And it is the story of how a hunch by the rabbi’s 13-year-old son helped lead him to it."

While pilgrimages all have their own narratives, depending upon the pilgrim him- or herself, this is the story of a narrative in written form that was on a pilgrimage, dependent upon the people who helped guard and guide itself safely to its new home.

Read more by clicking here.
Bien Camino!

Shalom, Brett