וְעַתָּה כִּתְבוּ לָכֶם אֶת הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת וְלַמְּדָהּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
.שִׂימָהּ בְּפִיהֶם לְמַעַן תִּהְיֶה לִּי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לְעֵד בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
And now, write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the children of Israel;
place it in their mouths in order that this song will be for Me as a witness for the children of Israel.
-- Deuteronomy 31:19
The last of the 613 commandments is the obligation for everyone to write a Sefer Torah. Join us as we welcome a new Sefer Torah into our Shul at our Annual Gala on May 26th. This Torah, sponsored by Chuck and Vonne Kaufman, gives us all a wonderful opportunity to participate in this commandment by helping to dedicate it and at the same time support our Shul.
We will meet at 4 PM at the Jewish Community Center to escort our new Sefer Torah into our building with joy and dancing. This will be followed by a cocktail reception in front of Tiferet Israel after which we will reconvene in the JCC for a catered dinner. A live band will be available to continue the festivities. As in past years, we will have both a live and silent auction.
At the Gala, we will have the pleasure of hearing from Rabbi Pesach Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation. His talk, entitled The Tree of Life ( Wolicki, an educator, writer, columnist, lecturer, public speaker and Canadian-born, pro-Israel activist living in Bet Shemesh in Israel. Rabbi Wolicki is the Associate Director of the עץ חיים / Etz Chaim), will compare the Torah, often referred to as the Tree of Life, to a tree, the longest living organism. For a tree to have life, to bear fruit, and to grow beautiful high branches for all to see it must have deep and healthy roots. These combined traits of longevity and dynamism are the perfect metaphor for Torah. A Torah scroll is invalid if even a single letter is missing or incorrectly written. The fidelity to tradition must be precise and unwavering. At the same time, every generation brings new fruit from the tree. New challenges, new ways of thinking, and new opportunities call upon us, the Jewish community, to nurture and guard the Tree of Life, thereby bringing forth new fruit for our new and changing world.
New Torah Dedication Opportunities
You can choose to dedicate a Sefer (book of the Chumash), a Parsha, a Pasuk (sentence), a word, or a letter of our new Torah. By doing so, you are giving yourself and your loved ones an incredibly meaningful gift to our kehilla for generations to come. These opportunities are summarized below.
Dedication |
Cost |
Recognition |
Sefer |
$1800/Sefer |
Tikkun with inscription; Yad with inscription; Name on plaque permanently located at CTI |
Parsha |
$360/Parsha |
Tikkun with inscription |
Pasuk |
$180/Pasuk |
Tehillim with inscription; Certificate with your name and pasuk sponsored |
Word |
$36/Word |
Certificate with your name and word sponsored |
Letter |
$18/Letter |
Certificate with your name and letter sponsored |
To afford yourself of these dedication opportunities and to purchase tickets to join our community in this most unique opportunity, please complete the form below by 8 PM on Friday, May 17, 2019. If the Sefer, Parsha or Pasuk you would like to dedicate is not shown in the lists below it is already taken. If you have any questions, please email Gala@TiferetAustin.org.
Dedicate Our Torah and Sign Up to Attend Our Gala Here