Dancing with the Torah during a pandemic
How do you dance with a Torah Scroll in the middle of a pandemic? That is the question Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein was asked when preparing for the last of the Jewish fall holidays which conclude this weekend.
"You still dance! You still sing! You still read Torah, our sacred scroll, the last verses of Deuteronomy and the very beginning of Genesis," Frisch Klein said.
However, Congregation Kneseth Israel is not doing it in their building in Elgin. Instead, they are participating in two global initiatives.
One is a video that includes one of the CKI scrolls among many throughout the world.
The other, is an hour- long video featuring seven Torahs with very unique stories, including one at Congregation Kneseth Israel.
"We have a Torah scroll that was commissioned by Sir Moses Montifiore in the 1880s. It is scroll number 23 of 24 that he commissioned so it is very special. We acquired it from a congregation in Quincy, Ill.," Frisch Klein said. "Moses Montifiore is a name people may know. There are hospitals and schools named for him. The first section of Jerusalem outside the ancient walled city was settled by him and is famous for its windmill."
During the course of the evening, some of the adult Hebrew students will read the beginning of Genesis. "I am very proud of our students. They have worked very hard to get to this point. I am actually ferkempt. Look it up. It doesn't translate well. But something like full of emotion listening to them."
Seven Torahs each with a unique story will be featured, including the Space Torah from Houston, which is ... out of this world. Yes, a Torah was actually brought to outer space and the beginning of Genesis, "In the beginning G-d created" was read from the space shuttle.
In between each story people will be invited to dance holding a Bible or other sacred text that they have in their homes. It should be a fascinating evening and show that really Elgin is at the crossroads of America. "It puts us on the map."
The service will be 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, on Zoom.
For more information, contact Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein at rabbi@ckielgin.org or (978) 590-8268 cell.