Our Czech Memorial Scroll was loaned to Temple Sinai in 1967 by the Memorial Scrolls Trust, which allocated more than 1,000 Czech scrolls to synagogues and organizations around the world. The Czech scrolls represent not only the lost communities of Bohemia and Moravia, but all those who perished in the Shoah.
While under Nazi oppression, the Jewish workers of the Jewish Museum in Prague undertook a remarkable final act. Realizing they could do nothing to save their fellow Jews nor themselves, they sought to rescue what they could of their community’s artifacts, a last brave move to subvert Nazi domination, uphold dignity and preserve the perpetuity their sacred heritage.
In 1942, these individuals were in effect building their own memorial – a collection of the cherished and sacred scrolls meticulously recorded, catalogued and indexed. Nazi ideology, not satisfied with the annihilation of every Jewish person, all set to eradicate Jewish culture, tradition and memory. The rescuing of these scrolls is therefore a remarkably bold act of resistance against Nazi tyranny.
Each of these scrolls not only carries the ancient text of the Jewish people but also enshrines the spirit of survival, revival, courage and hope – qualities that have become the abiding strength of the Jewish people.
The Memorial Scrolls Trust encourages their scroll-holders to use their scrolls for inter- and intra-faith work, as well as for ritual and education.
At Temple Sinai, the Czech Memorial Scroll sits in the center of our sanctuary’s ark. We use the scroll for b’nei mitzvah, holidays and other services throughout the year.