Last Rosh Hashana the Ethiopian Jewish community in Karmiel, Israel, gathered to pray in a newly-dedicated synagogue. This coming Rosh Hashana, the community will usher in the Jewish New Year using a Torah scroll donated - and transported - from halfway around the world.

Residents of Pittsburgh's Jewish Association on Aging's Weinberg Village donated a Torah scroll to the Ethiopian Jewish community of Karmiel, in Israel's Galilee, in a special ceremony on Tuesday (June 19). It will be the first Torah ever owned by Karmiel's Ethiopian Jews - and, for many of the congregants, the first Torah scroll ever seen in the original Hebrew.

The Torah donation was arranged by the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh (UJF), which has a special relationship, along with the Jewish community of Baltimore, with the city of Karmiel and the neighboring region of Misgav through the Partnership 2000 project.
 
Partnership 2000 establishes people-to-people connections between Israeli and Diaspora Jewish communities through an array of educational, cultural and economic initiatives..

The Ethiopian community in Karmiel numbers approximately 1,200 people, of some 75,000 Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel. The vast majority emigrated during either Operation Moses, in 1984, when they traveled by foot through the Sudan and were then transported to Israel, or Operation Solomon, in 1991, when 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in 36 hours.

"This is not a very big community, but it is a very special community to Adi Eldar, the Mayor of Karmiel. The Ethiopian Jews are very close to the Mayor's heart, and he has tried for years to help them," said Hana Koval, Deputy Director of Karmiel, who visited Pittsburgh to accept the Torah on behalf of Karmiel's Ethiopian Jewish community.

"Before last Rosh Hashana, Karmiel converted a building into a synagogue and community center for the community," she explained, noting that the building has a sanctuary, two activity rooms, and a computer room, in which the Ethiopian Jewish women participate in vocational training programs funded by the UJF.

This past year the UJF Community Campaign raised $11 million. Almost 40% of the funds allocated went to support human service programs overseas, with close to $600,000 granted to projects in Karmiel and Misgav.

At the presentation ceremony, Howard Rieger, President of the UJF, said, "The best words for this occasion are words from our heritage. In the Jewish tradition, there are blessings for every occasion, and there is no more appropriate blessing than the shehecheyanu," he stated, leading participants in the prayer "which expresses appreciation to G-d for enabling us to arrive at this day and this occasion."

"It is a very special honor, for me as an individual and for us as a community, to be able to give a Torah to the Ethiopian Jewish community in Karmiel," said James Rudolph, Chair of the Board of JAA. "I was personally able to see this community ten years ago, and to raise money for their needs. We are so fortunate to have a thriving partnership with Karmiel and make an impact in this way."

Helen Levin, president of the JAA Residents' Council, noted, "We at JAA are very proud to give one of our Torahs to the Ethiopian Jewish community. I hope the wisdom contained in this holy Torah continues to educate and inspire for generations to come."

In accepting the Torah, Hana Koval said, "I am so moved to accept this Torah scroll for our community. We have been in touch with Pittsburgh for Partnership 2000 for seven years, and this is among the most moving experiences of that partnership. This Torah has the spirit of what unites us back in Israel to the people of Pittsburgh.

"When we needed a Torah," she continued, "I wrote to different institutions in Israel, and I asked our friends in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh community responded immediately."

Donating a Torah is considered among the highest forms of charity in the Jewish tradition. Since a Jewish community has an obligation to provide a Jewish education for its children, it is imperative to have a Torah, which details the most basic of Jewish laws, upon which voluminous commentary has been developed over the centuries.

In the absence of a Torah scroll, Karmiel's Ethiopian Jews have used Torah books in Hebrew and Amharic, their native language. The Torah being donated underwent examination and repair by a sofer, Hebrew scribe, to be readied for prayer services. It will arrive as a surprise to the community prior to the High Holiday season.

"We have a very special partnership with Karmiel. I'm not sure what more meaningful thing we could do as a partner with Israel than to share this wonderful gift," said Jim Rudolph.

Av 5761 - July 2001