Our Torah Scrolls

The Torah scroll contains the entire text of the Five Books of Moses, and is hand-written by a pious scribe in the original Hebrew. It is rolled up around two ornate wooden shafts, attached to either end of the scroll.

Kept in the Ark of each synagogue, the Torah scroll is routinely read aloud in all synagogues, and in its presence, we offer prayers and blessings for all those in need. We read from the Torah scroll four times a week, on Shabbat morning, Shabbat afternoon, and on Monday and Thursday mornings. In addition, the Torah is read on many Jewish festivals, the first day(s) of the new Hebrew month and fast days.

Yet the Torah scroll is much more than that. It is the core representation of Judaism itself. It is the tangible embodiment of our connection to G‑d and of His wisdom and guidance, and we embrace it in our arms to celebrate that connection. Our holiest and most precious treasure, the Torah is literally G‑d's gift to the world and is our guide to life. Actually, the Torah is our life — without it, the Jewish People cannot live. It is the heart, mind, and soul of Judaism, right there in front of you, black on white.

We believe that the first Torah scroll in history was dictated by G‑d verbatim and written by Moses, telling his people to listen to the words found in that scroll and to reference them in response to life's questions. For thousands of years, countless generations of Jews have taught their children to do the same, keeping its tradition until this day.

From that original Torah scroll, many identical copies have been hand-written by pious scribes, and today there are many hundreds of thousands of Torah scrolls in existence.

At Chabad of Solano County, we are blessed to have not just one such precious text, but two.