A sacred scroll rests within Temple Reyim. This isn’t just any scroll. It’s Torah #1235. It came from Přeštice Bohemia now the Czech Republic. Temple Reyim is more than a synagogue. It’s a living testament to Jewish history and resilience.
This egalitarian synagogue affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism welcomes all. Its mission is to foster camaraderie and closeness. It encourages prayer learning and acts of loving-kindness. Temple Reyim offers a full range of religious educational and social programs. Services are participatory inclusive joyful and filled with song. Music inspires these services guided by generations.
The Temple Reyim community observes Shabbat festivals holidays and fast days. They maintain a daily morning minyan and a kosher kitchen. They provide Shabbat evening morning and afternoon services. The full Torah reading happens each week. A robust educational program caters to all ages. This includes preschool Hebrew school and active adult learning.
The Temple Reyim Torah scroll has a unique story. It arrived via Sylvia and Jack Jacobson. Its dedication ceremony was poignant. A Holocaust survivor Jacob Birnbaum spoke. Rabbi Phillip Kieval offered remarks. Cantor Marty Robbins and religious school children provided music.
Later Temple Reyim uncovered the scroll’s history. It was one of several from the Přeštice synagogue. Edgar Krasa a Holocaust survivor from Czechoslovakia had a connection to Přeštice. He might have visited his uncle there as a boy. Perhaps his uncle celebrated his bar mitzvah using this very scroll.
Linda Rakoff another Temple Reyim member proudly carried this Torah. This was at a gathering of Czech scrolls at Temple Sinai in Sharon Massachusetts. This scroll in Temple Reyim represents remembrance. It remembers the Shoah the Přeštice community and all those lost. It’s a reminder of Torah’s centrality in Jewish life.
Temple Reyim and Hebrew College share a unique partnership. They formed a shared campus. This involved renovating Temple Reyim’s building and adding a new wing. This collaboration creates a hub for Jewish learning community and creativity. It’s a model for communal sustainability and growth. The partnership shows deep connection and collaboration. It serves the Jewish people and the world. This demonstrates Temple Reyim’s commitment to community and its enduring legacy.