The Czech Holocaust Memorial Scrolls of Beth Am
Just think of the people who created the Torahs, the hands that lovingly inscribed the letters, and the Czech congregants who prayed over them-- before their lives were forever changed.
Introduction From Rabbi Leib
Welcome to a website that reveals a truly remarkable story: a story of the rescue, repair and reclamation of a unique collection of Sifrei Torah that, somehow, miraculously, survived the horrors of the Shoah, the Nazi Holocaust.
Within these electronic pages, you’ll be transported back in time to a besieged and war-torn Europe, wondering how it was at all possible for 1,564 Torah scrolls – once the pride and joy of countless Jewish congregations throughout Czechoslovakia - to successfully make their way from the Michle synagogue in Prague to the Westminster Synagogue in London during February and March of 1964.
Old York Road Temple – Beth Am is truly honored to be the custodian of no less than three scrolls from this fabled collection: scroll #169 from Svetla nad Sazavou, scroll # 1060 from Louny and scroll # 1138 from Tabor.
In these pages you’ll discover the once rich history of the Jewish community in each of these Czech towns and their tragic demise: the complete deportation of all Jewish residents to nearby Terezin and other death camps. Included are lists of the names of all those Jews who, eighty years ago, were tortured and murdered by their Nazi captors.
Finally, we present archival material and photos documenting the history of our three precious scrolls at Beth Am and the extraordinary lengths we went to – literally and figuratively! – to integrate their rich, compelling and indestructible stories into the life of our community.
We invite you to visit our synagogue and view for yourself the spectacular mural in our main lobby that showcases these priceless, treasured, sacred artifacts.
And don’t miss our powerful video below!
Questions for you to consider:
Our synagogue has three Czech Memorial Torah scrolls from the towns of Louny, Svêtlá nad Sázavou, and Tabor that survived the Holocaust. Why are these Torahs so important? Almost 80 years ago, all the Jews from these towns were murdered by the Nazis and only their (now our) Torahs survived?
How did they survive the Holocaust?
How did Old York Road Temple-Beth Am get our Torahs? Do we own them?
When are the Torahs used at Beth Am?
Explore our site to find the answers to these questions.