Bradley’s campus played host to a Torah scroll completion celebration Sunday.
The event invited members of the Bradley and Peoria Jewish communities to celebrate the completion of the scroll with food, singing and marching throughout campus.
“We just now completed a brand new Torah scroll, and when we finish a Torah scroll, there is a great big celebration,” Rabbi Eli Langsam, executive director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Peoria, said. “That’s why we’re gathered here: for a meal and a great celebration of finishing the Torah scroll.”
The Torah is the most important text of the Jewish faith, containing the Five Books of Moses and a number of religious commandments. It takes over a year to complete a full Torah scroll — special ink is used on pieces of parchment, and every letter is hand-written by a scribe.
“The Torah scroll is something that unites all Jews because we believe that every single Jew has a letter in the Torah,” Langsam said. “By bringing all of them together, this is a unifying event … We’re also going to take this Torah and we’re going to march it through campus.”
According to Langsam, Torah scrolls are very expensive to produce. As it is a common Jewish belief that everyone should have a Torah, families often sponsor the creation of the scroll for those who cannot afford it themselves. This Torah scroll was sponsored by the Steinbergs, a local Peoria family, and is intended for use on campus.
“It’s a commandment of God that every Jew should have a Torah,” Langsam said. “The Steinberg family sponsored it and gave the opportunity for other people to help along with writing letters in the Torah.”
The Steinberg family Torah will stay at Bradley University, and students will be able to use it for religious events in the future.
“During Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as well as many other holidays, we are required to read specific sections of the Torah as a Jewish community,” Adam Levy, sophomore management information systems major, said. “The Torah scroll will be available for Bradley students to use during Jewish holidays.”
The Torah was a much-needed addition to campus, according to Levy.
“Having the new Torah completes our Jewish community,” Levy said. “We had the rabbi, the Chabad house, the Jewish students, and now we have a Torah to bring it all together.”
