Shul welcomes Torah with joy and sadness
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Rabbi Gedaliah Jaffe, left, of Congregation Ahavas Yisrael in Edison marches and sings under a huppa holding the Torah scroll he donated to his congregation in memory of his father. With him is Rabbi Daniel Davis, a congregation vice president and chair of the dedication.
Photo courtesy Bruce Titen
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September 21, 2009
Congregation Ahavas Yisrael in Edison dedicated the first Torah scroll it could fully call its own, in a Sept. 13 ceremony that mixed both joy and sadness.
The scroll was to have been dedicated to the refuah shleima, or complete recovery, of community activist Suri Granek. However, the 45-year-old Highland Park resident and mother of six died of cancer on Aug. 26.
“Everyone has mentioned how much hesed she did for the community,” said Rabbi Gedaliah Jaffe, who donated the scroll, with his wife, Rivka, to his congregation in memory of his father, Marshall. “We wanted to pay tribute to her for all she has done for the community, which was devastated by her loss. I certainly felt that way.”
Jaffe acquired the scroll from a Fort Lee synagogue that closed about three months ago.
Throughout its more than 20-year history, Ahavas Yisrael had made do with a Torah scroll on loan from the Josefovitz family. The congregation met for many years in the homes of the Josefovitz and Avraham families. They moved about a year and half ago to its current rented building.
On holidays, the congregation borrowed additional scrolls from other local synagogues.
“Their generosity to this shul kept us going,” said Rabbi Daniel Davis, an Ahavas Yisrael vice president, who chaired the dedication.
Congregation members and supporters made donations to mark the arrival of the new scroll and, in Granek’s memory, to Chai Lifeline, which helps seriously ill children and their families.
Granek was active in Bikur Cholim of Raritan Valley, whose members visit the sick, and in the chevra kadisha, which tends to the bodies of the deceased. On Sept. 23, a study session for women and girls will be held at Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison, where Granek was a member, to mark the end of her shloshim, the first month of mourning.
“It really makes me feel proud to see how many people she affected in her life,” said Granek’s 13-year-old daughter, Temima. “She was a great role model. If someone needed something, it had to be done.”
Daughter Avigayil, 17, said her mother “was always willing to help.” Granek’s husband, Hesh, added, “She put her family first, her community second, and herself third.”
The Torah scroll celebration began at the Edison home of Silvio and Chavie Taranda and continued along a four-block procession to the synagogue. Hundreds sang and danced along the route.
“This is a celebration for the whole community,” said Rabbi Yaakov Luban of Ohr Torah in remarks to celebrants. “The dedication of a sefer Torah is a milestone. A Torah is the essence of what a synagogue is all about….”
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