Where do Torahs come from?
A congregation can commission a scribe to write one, but that’s very expensive and not done very often. So what about the rest of them?
“Every Torah scroll has a story,” said Rabbi Gordon Freeman of Walnut Creek’s Congregation B’nai Shalom.
The Torahs at B’nai Shalom are a case in point.
One came from a small town in the Midwest. There were no Jews left and the Torahs were distributed to congregations throughout the country in order to carry on their heritage.
Another Torah was donated by a congregant in memory of a family member.
Then there’s the Holocaust Torah.
But what really gave B’nai Shalom a jump-start in Torah acquisition were Blue Chip Stamps.
Rabbi Freeman explains that 30-some years ago, everyone was collecting Blue Chip Stamps. Individuals could redeem them for merchandise. But nonprofit groups could get cash.
Seeing a Torah fund-raising opportunity, the fledgling, 60-family congregation went on a major Blue Chip Stamp collection drive. When an article about the drive appeared in the newspaper, the rest of the community joined in by contributing their stamps.
Eventually, enough Blue Chip Stamp money was raised to buy a Torah.
But the story goes on.
Two brothers living in Pacheco also read the story and were so taken by the congregation’s creativity that they donated another Torah in memory of their parents.
Meanwhile, a young rabbinical student with family ties to the Bay Area heard about the Torah drive using Blue Chip Stamps. He was so impressed by the congregation’s dedication, imagination and humor that he decided to interview to be B’nai Shalom’s first full-time rabbi.
But the Rabbinic Assembly wouldn’t let him. There was a job posting but no one could find Walnut Creek on the map and they decided it was a hoax.
But the rabbinical student prevailed. Now, 30 years later, he’s still at B’nai Shalom, no one has any trouble finding Walnut Creek on the map and the synagogue now has six Torahs.