Holocaust Torah Scroll

Mishkan Shalom is privileged to guard a Torah scroll saved from the Shoah — one of 1,564 scrolls rescued from communities in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) and on permanent loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London.

Each year, the congregation holds a special Shabbat morning service to remember the Jews of the small city of Uherske Hradiste, a middle class community that was the home of about 300 Jews at the beginning of World War II. Mishkan's scroll is from the one synagogue in the town. According to the trust, eight scrolls from the town and surrounding villages were saved, and are on loan to organizations around the world.

At Mishkan Shalom's memorial service, the week's parsha (weekly Torah reading) is chanted from the 300-year-old scroll. The service also includes a talk about what has been learned about the Jews of Uherske Hradiste, the scrolls, and a d'var Torah on the week's portion.

At the conclusion, participants read all 291 names, gathered from various sources, of Jews from Uherske Hradiste who perished and, as their spiritual descendants, say kaddish for them.

Mishkan Shalom members Carol Towarnicky and Ron Goldwyn visited Uherske Hradiste in 2001 and have collected information about the town and the scrolls.

Mishkan Shalom participated in a gathering of more than 100 Holocaust Torahs from around the Delaware Valley, held in 2023 at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Center City. The event was part of a series of programs held around the world to mark the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the scrolls at the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London.