Diana Alba Soular

Las Cruces Sun-News





LAS CRUCES - As Rabbi Bery Schmukler of Las Cruces unveiled a special Torah scroll on Wednesday, signs of its unusual and tragic past became evident: yellowed parchment, patched holes — and, in some places, charred edges.

The hand-written scroll, which contains religious writings sacred to Jewish people, was rescued decades ago by a 14-year-old boy from an otherwise-fiery fate on Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass." On that night in November 1938, Nazis terrorized the Jewish people of Germany by burning hundreds of synagogues and vandalizing thousands of businesses, a defining moment in the Holocaust genocide.

In a risky move, the boy, Isaac Schwartz, doused a pile of Torah scrolls and other sacred objects that had been set ablaze in Hamburg, Germany. He was able to rescue just one holy scroll. It was later buried, along with other religious items, in an attempt to protect them. After World War II, Schwartz returned to retrieve the scroll. Even so, it had been damaged so much it wasn't usable, according to a news release from Chabad of Las Cruces and Southern New Mexico, a local Jewish congregation.

But after the recent conclusion of an 18-month-long restoration, the broader Chabad network is taking the historic Torah scroll on a tour to visit different synagogues and temples around the world each week over a two-year span. This Saturday, it will be showcased in a weekly service hosted by Chabad at its Alevy Chabad Jewish Center de Las Cruces. The service is open to the public.

The traveling scroll arrived in Las Cruces from Albuquerque on Monday after being featured in services there two days earlier.

Schmukler said he feels honored that Las Cruces would be able to secure one of the stops on the worldwide schedule, given that other congregations in larger cities were vying for an opportunity to host it. A limited number of slots were available.

"We were able to get it in Las Cruces," he said Wednesday. "It's a little miracle."

Torah scrolls contain what are known as the Five Books of Moses, considered the "most sacred object" in Judaism, according to a Chabad news release. It can take up to a year for a trained scribe to hand-write such a scroll in Hebrew. The five books also are the same five books contained at the start of a standard Christian Bible.

Schmukler said there are layers of meaning attached to the scroll's visit. For starters, it's a reminder of the Holocaust and its historical reality. Also, the scroll, by going to cities across the globe, is meant to be a unifying force. Its unique story symbolizes the resilience of the Jewish people, who've repeatedly faced persecution, he said.

"Really, it shows us the strength of the Jewish people — that's what kept us alive," he said.

The scroll is circulating among Jewish congregations as part of the "year of Hakhel, a once-every-seven years occurrence celebrated with gatherings for study and inspiration," according to the news release.

Saturday's service will mark the first time the Alevy Chabad Jewish Center has had two Torah scrolls in its "ark," a special cabinet at the front of the synagogue that holds the sacred religious writings, according to Schmukler. Typically the ark, which can contain up to three scrolls, has just one.

Las Crucen Jeff Steinborn, who's Jewish, said he's been offered a chance to read aloud from the scroll and will attend on Saturday. In addition to the religious significance, he said it's likely to be an emotional service that will be a remembrance of the people who perished in the Holocaust. He said he had extended family members who died in the atrocity.

"It's obviously a powerful symbol, given the history of this Torah, given the persecution and crimes against humanity and against Jewish people who lived in that part of the world at that time," said Steinborn, who's also a state representative. "It's a powerful piece of history."

Schmukler, who flew to New York to pick up the scroll, noted that its visit also holds significance to non-Jews.

"It's a part of the world history," he said.

A philanthropist, Leonard Wein, bought the damaged Torah scroll from the Schwartz family and donated it to the Jewish Learning Institute, which carries out adult educational programs at Chabad centers, according to the Chabad news release. A scribe rewrote letters that had faded. Some segments of parchment were replaced as part of the restoration.

Las Cruces City Councilor Ceil Levatino, who represents the district in which the Jewish center is located, said it's an "incredible honor" that the historic scroll will be in Las Cruces.

"I'm thrilled it's coming here, and I hope and I suspect it will have great meaning for the members of that congregation, for the community as a whole," she said.

Levatino said "any opportunity to remind the public of what so many million of people had to endure and the attempts today to deny that it happened" should be taken.

"To not teach it is disdainful to me because we never, ever, ever want to see that repeated," she said. "And if we don't learn from history, history will be repeated."

Steinborn, too, said the salvaged scroll imbues a reminder.

"Those are lessons we need to learn so we can draw from them and stand up against those crimes in the future," he said.

Also notable about Saturday's service is that a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp will attend. Theodore Lehman will address attendees at a luncheon after the service. The combination of the historic Torah scroll's presence and Lehman's attendance have generated a buzz among the Jewish community and are attracting people who don't normally go to services, Schmukler said. He described the occasion as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." As many as 100 people are expected to attend.

"Some people are coming for the Torah scroll," he said. "Some people are coming for the Holocaust survivor. Some people are coming for both."

The service starts 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Alevy Chabad Jewish Center de Las Cruces, 2907 E. Idaho Ave. A luncheon is slated to follow. A reading from the Torah is scheduled at 11:15 a.m.

Information: 575-524-1330 or email rabbi@chabadlc.org.

Diana Alba Soular may be reached at 575-541-5443, dalba@lcsun-news.com or @AlbaSoular on Twitter.