The Jewish Chronicle
Notts finds a Czech mate for misidentified scroll
v When Nottingham Liberal Synagogue was established in 1965, it applied for a Torah on permanent loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust.
January 10, 2017 10:48
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v When Nottingham Liberal Synagogue was established in 1965, it applied for a Torah on permanent loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust.
January 10, 2017 10:48It was number 886 of the 1,564 Czech scrolls which survived the Nazis and was said to have originated in Austerlitz, now known as Slavkov.
Since its provenance was confirmed at a conference 26 years ago, community members have regularly visited the town, forging links with its citizens. Ruth Matiovska, the one remaining Jewish resident, was made an honorary NLS member.
However, the shul belatedly discovered that its scroll was actually number 887 and not from Austerlitz but the small Moravian town of Kamenice nad Lipou, 80 kilometres to the west.
NLS leaders then launched a search for a genuine Austerlitz scroll to reside alongside the other four Torahs used for Shabbat and High Holy-Day services.
Neil Pike, who chairs the NLS Austerlitz group, said that when told of the mix-up by the scrolls trust, the shul presented photographic evidence of the 886 marking.
The confusion stemmed from two scrolls having been designated the same number.
“We possessed the scroll that should have been inscribed 887. The true 886 is in the care of Finchley Progressive Synagogue. This came as a rude shock.
“However, through our links with another ‘Austerlitz community’ in the United States, we discovered there was another Austerlitz scroll of undoubted provenance. The efforts of Bev Karp of the Florida synagogue revealed that it had long ago been given to the now-closed theology department at Leeds University.
“We got in touch and everyone is delighted that the Austerlitz scroll has been recovered and now resides safely in our ark.”
Nottingham congregants now plan to visit both Slavkov and Kamenice nad Lipou in the summer of 2018.
“We will ensure that the memory of the 47 Jewish souls who once used this scroll — and the 93 who formed the Austerlitz community — will always be honoured,” Mr Pike added. “We will do the same for those from Kamenice nad Lipou.
“If we don’t, the chances are that no one else is going to.”