The creation of the scroll was a yearlong project, starting with the piecing together of 62 to 84 sheets of parchment paper that were cured, tanned and scraped by a scribe in Israel. Laws within Judaism govern the process, and any small mistake would render the scroll invalid.

Commissioned by the Madison Chabad Jewish Community, the scroll is meticulously outlined and filled in with a quill. The scribe in Israel worked on the scroll for 10 months, and Pape completed the final two months of work.

The Torah scroll contains exactly 304,805 letters, which spell out 613 commandments Jews live by. The 613th commandment is to write a Torah.

James Stein, of Madison, said one way to fulfill the law is by writing one letter of the Torah, and all who attended Sunday’s celebration had the chance to do so. As Pape filled in the final letters of the scroll, people were able to hold onto the end of his quill and assist with writing a Torah.

“I’ve got goosebumps to be honest,” Stein said after filling in his letter.

“For me, it’s fulfilling my life’s destiny. It’s the last final commandment that all Jewish people are supposed to fulfill as part of their life. And because they’re so rare, not everyone in their life has the opportunity to do it.”