Congregants of the Chabad Jewish Center of San Clemente experienced a special moment on Sunday, Sept. 10, as more than 200 people gathered at the center for the dedication of the center’s third Torah.
The event also provided the opportunity to celebrate the center’s 20th anniversary in San Clemente, in addition to other praiseworthy moments, as the past two decades have marked significant growth that necessitated a third scroll.
“It was very moving and emotional and joyous,” said Tzippy Slavin, co-director of the CJC along with her husband, Rabbi Mendel Slavin. “People said they’ll never forget that morning, because it was so unique.”
She added that the passing of Mendel’s mother in April 2022 set the dedication process in motion. The Slavins decided then would be “an opportune time” to commission a new Torah in memory of Mendel’s mother.
“In Judaism, when we do good deeds in memory of a loved one, it brings tremendous comfort to the family, and it brings tremendous blessings to her memory and to the family,” Tzippy said.
Getting a new scroll is costly, however, as Torah scrolls—which contain more than 300,000 letters—must be handwritten and can take a year to write, according to Mendel.
The CJC paid a scribe a full-time salary to write the Torah in Israel, using ink and feathers.
Members of the center contributed to lowering the cost by buying letters.
Those actions pertained to one of the Torah’s 613 commandments, according to Mendel, which requires that people should have a Torah of their own.
“Since that’s difficult, people like to buy a share in a Torah,” he said. “Everybody participated in buying (a letter or) a verse; people dedicated them to the memory of their loved ones or to the honor of their children.”
After the scroll was finished, the next step was Sunday’s dedication, during which attendees enjoyed music, coffee and donuts, marched and danced in the CJC parking lot, ate a large, festive lunch, and sang “mazel tov,” or “congratulations” in Hebrew.
“The highlight was to have 200-plus people from the community turn out on Sunday, to participate in this event where … they leave the last few lines of the Torah unfinished, so we could finish them as we conclude the Torah,” Mendel said.
Tzippy added that many stood in line with their families while the last lines were being filled out, to be photographed with the scribe as the scribe writes a letter on the family’s behalf.
Those moments were just one of many moving parts involved in Sunday’s event, which the Slavins had meticulously planned out over months of preparation.
Although the community had participated in numerous previous events held by the center, according to Mendel, none were as moving as the latest dedication.
“We’re such a tight community, and everybody sort of knows each other so well,” he said. “So many people in the community contributed to make this possible.”
Additionally, other attendees were able to experience something they’d never seen before, which happened to be a celebration of the most cherished and sacred object in the Jewish tradition. Mendel said it was a big deal for people and their families to witness such a special event.
“You could buy a used Torah,” he added. “This one was written for our community, and now all three that we have, have been written for this community.”
The bare minimum for every synagogue is to have one scroll, Mendel said, but when services include reading from different parts of the Torah, it can take a long time to roll to the next section. Therefore, synagogues do aim to have more than one but have to balance that desire with the costs of paying for a new Torah.
A year after the Slavins started the Chabad Jewish Center in 2003, a member of the community donated the first scroll, and another person donated one roughly 10 years later. This newest Torah was a combination of many in the community participating to bring a commissioned scroll to San Clemente.
Tzippy said they’ve experienced exponential growth since beginning from the ground up so long ago, to where their center can provide Hebrew school, classes, counseling and a host of other services.
“We want to do a lot of good, and we love San Clemente; it is such a unique city,” she said. “The culture here, the kindness here, the warmth, it is a very special place. We are so honored to have our building on historic El Camino Real.”
The celebrations will continue for the Chabad Jewish Center, from Friday night, Sept. 15, through Sunday, Sept. 17, with the arrival of the Jewish New Year. The center will host several community events, services, and a community lunch.
More information about the upcoming events can be found at jewishsc.com.
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