Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on September 15, 2014

The last letters of a newly hand-written Torah were inked in Hoboken today to mark the first opening of a synagogue in the Mile Square City in more than 100 years.

Throughout the late morning, Rabbi Moshe Shapiro orchestrated a Torah ceremony at Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Center, at 80 Park St., where children and adults contributed to writing the last of the 304,805 Hebrew letters in the sacred text.

"We are so excited," said Shapiro. "It is such a big milestone."

After the scribe finished writing the letters on the unraveled scroll and allowed the ink to dry, the completed Sephardic Torah which took more than a year to complete was placed in a ceremonial case.

And then the celebration began.

More than 250 people marched from the new synagogue to Washington Street with the Torah placed in its ceremonial vessel. With traditional Jewish music playing, people waved flags and children held small torches to mark the occasion.

Local politicians also attended the Torah ceremony, including Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner.

The Chabad Jewish Center moved into Hoboken since September 2011, but never had a permanent home in the city until today, Shapiro said.

The 1,800-square footlocation at 80 Park St. will serve as a house of worship, Hebrew school and community center for those in Hoboken, Jersey City and the surrounding cities, Shapiro added.

In addition, the new Torah was written in tribute to the 64 members of the Israel Defense Forces that died in the most recent war in Gaza, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge. The names of the 64 Israelis were also inscribed on the ceremonial vessel that will house the new Torah.

Read more here:

First synagogue to open in Hoboken in more than 100 years

Category: Synagogue
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