Main fundraiser photo

Restore a Torah Looted by Nazis

The Czech Torah is Going Home!

We did it! Over 170 people and organizations contributed to repair and return this Torah to Olomouc. Over $18,000 was donated through this Go Fund Me page in addition to contributions made directly to Peninsula Sinai Congregation (PSC), as well as a generous matching donation from Taube Philanthropies. On October 17th, Rabbi Corey Helfand will accompany this scroll on its long flight back home. As we had hoped, the scroll will make it to Olomouc in time for a four-day celebration of Jewish life. Stay tuned as we hope to share highlights from this celebration.

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Help Restore and Return a Torah Looted by Nazis.


During the Nazi era, thousands of Torah scrolls were looted in Czechoslovakia. Over 1500 were rescued and placed in Jewish communities across the globe. The Jews of Olomouc, a town near Prague, were all but gone by the end of World War II. But miraculously, the Jewish community has experienced a revival and is once again vibrant. Now they have asked that their Torah be returned—the first request ever to bring one of the Czech scrolls home. To make this happen, we at Peninsula Sinai Congregation, who have safeguarded the scroll, need your help. This well-traveled Torah must first be repaired to usable (i.e. kosher) condition. Please donate to pay a sofer (scribe) to restore every precious word of the Olomouc Torah by hand. Take a stand against hate. Tell the world: never again.

Donate a Word: $1.80
Donate a Verse: $18
Donate ten Verses: $180
Donate a Chapter: $360
Donate your Bar/Bat Mitzvah Portion: $1,800
Donate One of the 5 Books of the Torah: $18,000
Or donate any other amount you’d like!

* In the Hebrew alphabet, each letter has a numerical value. The word for life or “chai” is equal to 18. As as result, there is a Jewish tradition of making donations in denominations of 18.


Keep Our Faith Alive, All Across the World!
With the Olomouc Torah going home, Peninsula Sinai Congregation needs to replace it. A sofer will write a new scroll for us, also by hand. Any money we raise above our $38,000 goal will gratefully be accepted and applied toward the commissioning of this new Torah - a project expected to cost an additional $75,000.


Donations 

  • Will Melnyk
    • $25 
    • 6 yrs

Organizer

Irene Moff
Organizer
San Mateo, CA
Peninsula Sinai Congregation
 
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.

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