Commandment 613: Film Screening & Panel

Presented by HBT’s Adult Education Committee

November 3, 7:00 pm

Register here today!

Non-member $18

Sponsored by Elly Freund Bell, Alice Cartwright, Maja Buium, honouring John and Nora Freund’s commitment over the past 50 years to life at Holy Blossom Temple and the legacy of Jewish remembrance and education.

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION WEEK FILM SCREENING
Honouring our “Survivor Torah” from the Memorial Scrolls Trust

Torah scrolls are written by hand, following rules that go back thousands of years. Made to last for centuries, they are central to Jewish ritual; what is contained in them – the first five books of the Hebrew Bible – is the foundation of Jewish life. The final commandment in the Torah, number 613, is to write the scroll for yourself.

In this short documentary, we meet Rabbi Kevin Hale of Northampton, a joyful sofer (Torah scribe) who restores scrolls that were saved in Czechoslovakia during the Shoah. As he goes about his sacred craft, this son of refugees from Nazi Germany reflects on his own path to a life of faith and practice. And, at communities now entrusted with the scrolls, congregants and clergy explain the powerful bond they feel with these precious objects – and with the generations that previously cherished them.

Through the generous sponsorship of Nora and John Freund, Holy Blossom continues to honour and preserve the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust by caring for one of these rescued Czech Torah scrolls, a precious relic of 20th-century European Jewish History. We are proud to bring out our scroll for this special presentation and conversation.

This program will be hybrid and will feature a virtual Q&A with Miriam Lewin, producer/director, and Rabbi Kevin Hale, sofer; Lois Roman, trustee of the Memorial Scrolls Trust; and Andrew Keene, of the World Union of Progressive Judaism.

DOCUMENTARY | 2020 | 23 MINUTES
UNITED STATES | ENGLISH
DIRECTED BY MIRIAM LEWIN