The Southwest Voice

Loading...

Larger Map

larger view

I had misgivings about moving to Bakersfield earlier this year because of my Jewish faith.  I couldn’t imagine there would be any Jews in rural, devoutly Christian Bakersfield.

It was a pleasant surprise, when I arrived, to discover Bakersfield was more cosmopolitan than I’d thought. There were no less than three temples to choose from, including--shock and amazement-- a Chassidic one.

Chassidism is a form of mystical Orthodox Judaism that began in the 1700s in Eastern Europe. Men in the community often wear black suits and hats, and women dress modestly in long skirts.

You’d expect to find Chassids in Brooklyn, or Los Angeles’ Fairfax district. I never would have dreamed I’d find them here.

I belong to the Reform movement, the most liberal of Judaism’s branches. But when I found out Chabad of Bakersfield would be dedicating a new Torah scroll and had invited the public to celebrate its dedication, I decided to attend.

For one thing, Chassids know how to throw a party. There’s always klezmer music and dancing.

Plus, I had never been to a Torah scroll dedication before. Scrolls have preceded me at every temple I’ve ever joined.

A Torah scroll dedication is a huge deal in the Jewish community because modern scrolls are still created the same way they were thousands of years ago.

A Torah scroll contains the first five books of Moses, which are divided into portions to be read each week during services. A scribe writes the Torah in Hebrew calligraphy on specially treated parchment that is stitched together to form one continuous scroll.

A scroll contains about 600,000 characters. You remember I said it’s written by hand, right?

Oh, and the scroll has to be flawless. One little teeny tiny spelling error renders the whole thing unusable. Who are mere mortals to alter the word of God?

A scroll is written with a quill, because modern writing implements are usually made of metal, the same material used to make weapons. That would be profane, because weapons take life. The Torah, it is believed, gives life.

The “Rose & Irwin Joseph Lebanoff Torah Scroll” was donated by Maxine Barber and her siblings in honor of their parents. One scribe began it in Jerusalem, and after 10 months of tedious labor shipped it to Bakersfield, where a guest scribe from Las Vegas filled in Deuteronomy 34:12 to complete it.

No lie. I said Vegas.

After a few minutes passed to allow the ink to dry, Rabbi Shmuel Schlanger held the scroll open and aloft for the community to view, then rolled it up and placed a velvet cover over it. The handles were capped with ornate silver crowns, as is customary.

“When Moses received the Torah, they marched around with it for 40 years in the desert,” the rabbi quipped. “We’ll take a little less time marching in front of the building, here. Watch out for cars.”

A hand-held canopy was then hoisted in the air to honor and shield the scroll, and a joyful procession followed clergy and the donor family singing Hebrew prayers. The procession wound its way through the parking lot, into the street and then into the temple sanctuary. There, after a blessing, the scroll was placed inside the ark, or sacred cabinet where scrolls are stored when not in use.

It is a uniquely appropriate time to dedicate a new scroll.

This fall commences the most holy time of year on the Jewish calendar. We will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, at nightfall Monday.

Our tradition holds that we have 10 days from the onset of Rosh Hashanah to pray and reflect on our conduct. It is a time to seek forgiveness from anyone we may have wronged over the past year. Only after reconciliation can we ask for mercy on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, when we fast and seek God’s forgiveness. This year Yom Kippur falls on Oct. 9.

To Christians it may be 2008. But on the Jewish calendar, it will soon be 5769.

Think about that.

In this day and age, it might stun non-Jews to learn that my people don’t just waltz over to Kinko’s and print out a scroll on a computer when they need a new one.

But there is something truly special about knowing the history and moral code of the Jewish people has been handed down the same way for millennia.

Rabbi Schlanger said it best.