Houston, we have a Torah

Posted Friday, August 29, 2008 4:19 am

A gift from a Cedarhurst family to a shul in Texas

By Michael C. Duke

Issue of August 29, 2008

Like a bride and groom on their wedding day, members of a small shul in Houston were joined by family and friends and joyfully paraded a new sefer Torah under a chuppah in a dedication ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 17.

More than 100 people joined the Hachnasat Sefer Torah parade, taking advantage of a break in the afternoon rain showers, serenading the Torah with song, dance and prayer as it was welcomed into its new home, called the Meyerland Minyan.

Cedarhurst residents Ben and Eileen Weinstock donated the sefer Torah to Meyerland Minyan in honor of their children, Dr. Etan and Suzi Weinstock, and grandchildren, Micha and Raya Weinstock, who live in Houston. Meyerland Minyan, which was founded in 2001, now has two sifrei Torah, thanks to the Weinstock family’s generous donation.

The scroll was rescued from Europe during World War II and previously belonged to a synagogue in Queens, which recently closed its doors. After purchasing the kosher scroll from a broker in Brooklyn, Ben and Eileen Weinstock had a sofer, Rabbi Aryeh Schechter, check its condition and make necessary repairs.

The Weinstocks decided to donate the Torah after visiting their son’s family in Houston. “Last fall, we came to visit them and davened at Meyerland Minyan,” Ben recalled. “We were very impressed by the shul, and the community, and thought it was a warm, accepting and wonderful place.”

During their visit and another one this June, the Weinstocks noticed that Meyerland Minyan had a single sefer Torah. “After davening, I spoke with my wife and said how nice it would be to donate a second sefer Torah to the shul in honor of our children and grandchildren,” Ben explained. “So, one thing led to the next, and here it is.”

Greatly appreciative and excited by the Weinstock’s donation, Rabbi Gidon Moskovitz, Meyerland Minyan’s rabbi, said the new sefer Torah will help meet the congregation’s — and the community’s — growing needs.

“We’re moving from being a fledgling minyan, to becoming a full-service shul,” Rabbi Moskovitz remarked.

Logistically, a second sefer Torah is a much-needed addition for Meyerland Minyan. It will save from having to roll from one Torah portion to another, on days where two Torah readings, from two different sections, are required; and, on Simchat Torah.

“In years past, we’ve had to borrow a second Sefer Torah on Simchas Torah,” Rabbi Moskovitz said. “We have a large Aron Kodesh. When you open it up and see only one Torah in there, it looks very lonely. Now, it has a friend, and I know that the entire congregation is very grateful for this wonderful gift.”

For the Weinstocks, the donation is a “privilege.” “We see it as being part of the chain that is Jewish tradition,” Ben pointed out. “If you view Jewish history as a long chain, this feels like we’ve added a new link — but more than just a link. The link that we’ve added feels like it has strengthened the entire chain that precedes it, and becomes a receptor for the next link, for the next person who adds to it. We all do our part in strengthening this chain — from the people who show up for minyan, to the Jewish mothers who raise their children in a proper environment, to storekeepers who go to the trouble of stocking kosher products, so it’s easier for others to be Jewish. We’re just grateful for having this opportunity to make this contribution.”

“I belong to a shul in Woodmere, N.Y., the largest Young Israel congregation in the world,” Weinstock continued. “We have almost 1,000 member families, and we have 30, 40, maybe 50 sifrei Torah. So, donating another sefer Torah to that shul would be important, but it wouldn’t be as important as perhaps donating one here, to Meyerland Minyan. We saw that this shul really has a need, and we were inspired by their commitments to be inclusive and to strengthen Judaism in Houston.”