Torah Covers
By Jodi Upin
New jewel-toned fabrics cover our Torahs, featuring vines and our values.
Shortly after Bet Shalom moved into its new home in 2002, new Torah covers were commissioned, custom designed to fit into our new space. But by 2019 they were well-used and showing their age, clearly needing to be replaced.
Around 2019 the Women of Reform Judaism at Bet Shalom closed their chapter. They graciously offered their remaining funds to commission new Torah covers for all the Torahs except the Dolginow Sephardic Torah with its permanent hard case cover. So the project to replace the Torah covers was begun. Bet Shalom partnered with Margery and Eli Langner, Judaica fiber artists out of Tucson, Arizona to design the new covers.
Our fantastic new Torah covers were dedicated last fall at the end of the outdoor Yizkor service at Yom Kippur. Each Torah is dressed in a jewel-tone colored fabric with a unique design on the front and a word woven into the design of its vine or tree. The Bet Shalom Ritual Forum carefully chose the words to reflect some of our most cherished values. From left to right in the picture these are:
פרדס Pardes – The word means “orchard” and is also an acronym for the four-tiered approach to Torah study, P’shat (Direct), Remez (hidden or allegorical) Drash (midrashic) Sod (secret or esoteric).
חסד Chesed – Loving Kindness
זכור Zachor – Remember!
קדושה Kedusha – Holiness
Due to current circumstances we have not been able to spend time with our Torahs up close and in person. Here is a glimpse of the covers for you to enjoy until you can see them for yourself.
