A Sefer Torah, or scroll of the law written on parchment and kept in the arks of synagogues, was buried on Sunday afternoon at solemn ceremonies in which three rabbis and a cantor participated. This unique service was observed because one of the scrolls used by the First Roumanian Congregation has become unusuable.
Rabbi Harry Goldstein, spiritual leader of the Roumanian Congregation, officiated at the rites. He was assisted by Rabbis B. A. Daskal and Abraham Elman. Hymns were sung by Cantor Rothberg. Several hundred members of the congregation attended the services. The internment took place at the Roumanian cemetery at Waldheim.
When the parchment on which the Sefer Torah is written tears, or the wood becomes defective for some reason, or it becomes illegible, this holy writing is “posil,” that is, invalid, and may no longer be used. Some defects can be remedied. However, where a letter in the Divine name becomes illegible, that may not be corrected because that requires erasure, and under the Orthodox Jewish law the name of the Lord may not be erased. A special box is constructed for the defective Torah and it is placed therein and buried in the cemetery. A tablet is usually erected over it with an inscription telling that a sacred scroll lies buried there.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
