Through the efforts of its rabbi, Ellen Jaffe-Gill, Tidewater Chavurah has received a Torah scroll to use during Shabbat and holidays.
Rabbi Jaffe-Gill acquired the scroll through the Jewish Community Legacy Project, an organization that helps small congregations with planning resources and solutions. The organization gave Jaffe-Gill’s name to Dr. Michael J. Bukstein, former president of B’nai Sholom Temple in Quincy, Illinois. Bukstein invited Jaffe-Gill to apply for one of the four sifrei Torah, and in February informed her that Tidewater Chavurah had been chosen as a recipient.
The oldest Jewish congregation in Illinois, B’nai Sholom Temple was founded in 1852 and remained in the red-brick, Moorish Revival synagogue it built in Quincy in 1869, until the dwindling Reform congregation sold the building and deconsecrated it last year. Its other Torah scrolls were donated to congregations in Indonesia, Germany, and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The sefer Torah is in good condition—“very readable,” Rabbi Jaffe-Gill says. “We are beyond thrilled and grateful for this wonderful and unexpected gift.”
The torah also bears a mantle and a yad, or pointer.
For more information about the Torah scroll, contact Rabbi Jaffe-Gill at rabbicantorejg@gmail.com or 215-359-7806. For service or membership information about Tidewater Chavurah, contact Carol Smith at 499-3660 or carita@verizon.net.