On Sunday, Ohr Somayach Sandton celebrated its "bar mitzvah"
with a joyous hachnosas sefer Torah ceremony, in which
a newly-written sefer Torah commissioned by the 13
year- old congregation was formally brought into the shul.
The ceremony marked the successful end of the congregation's
"Torah Trillions Project," whereby the entire Jewish
community was invited to participate in the mitzvah of
writing a sefer Torah by sponsoring the writing of
specific sections.
The ceremony commenced in the home of David Sharon, who had
given a substantial donation for the project in honor of his
late father. The final thirteen letters were auctioned off
and afterwards written in by Rabbi Moshe Brisel, the sofer
commissioned to write the scroll who was brought from
Meah Shearim for the purpose. Also auctioned was the
beautiful new crown, which was bought by a consortium on
behalf of the community in honor of the congregation's
founding and current leader, Rabbi Zev Kraines. Thereafter,
the newly completed sefer was borne amidst much
singing and dancing through the streets to the shul's
premises in Shingwetzi Avenue, Gallo Manor.
From its modest beginnings in 1992, Ohr Somayach Sandton, one
of four vibrant Ohr Somayach kehillos currently active
in Johannesburg, now comprises an estimated 200 families.
Until now, the congregation has used sifrei Torah
inherited from former Jewish communities in the country
districts that have since closed down, but all of these are
very old and in constant need of repair.
After the parade, participants crowded into the shul to hear
the first formal reading of the new sefer by Rabbi
Kraines. Brian Shear, the congregation's gabbai, then
delivered a message of welcome and introduced the two
speakers, Rabbi Kraines and Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren
Goldstein.
Rabbi Kraines said that the Ohr Somayach Sandton had come
into being at a time when a number of country and East Rand
congregations were coming to the end of their existence and
were in the process of passing the torch on to other
communities. The physical legacy of many of these now defunct
kehillos was continuing through their being
transplanted to the Ohr Somayach Sandton. In addition to the
four sifrei Torah, this included the Ner Tomid
and luchos (from the old Germiston shul), the
bimah (Kempton Park) and Magen David (Beaufort
West).
Rabbi Kraines thanked all those who had made the formidable
task of commissioning the writing of a new sefer Torah
for the shul a reality. The enormously enthusiastic
response to the project, he confessed, showed that he had
underestimated the South African Jewish community and the
depth of the love of Torah that was in their hearts.
He explained that there were two opinions as to how the
Mitzvah of every Jew writing for himself a sefer Torah
should be fulfilled. One was that it had to be done
solely by the individual whereas the other allowed it to be
fulfilled in partnership with other Jews. The first opinion
taught that fulfilling the mitzvah — and by implication
all of the Torah — was within the capacity of every
individual Jew. The second showed how Jews, through pooling
their energies, could together ensure the transmission of
Torah from generation to generation.
Rabbi Goldstein began by asking what the non-Jews who had
been watching the parade would think if they were told that
what the Jews were celebrating was the addition of a new book
to their library. The answer, of course, was that the Torah
much more than just another book but was the very lifeblood
of the Jewish people, its every word and letter emanating
directly from Hashem. It was the guarantee of Jewish survival
and continuity, no matter what the circumstances, but only so
long as they committed themselves to it wholeheartedly and
without compromise.
History, Rabbi Goldstein said, had proven time and time again
that deviant Jewish movements that sought to change or
"adapt" the Torah according to what they believed to be the
imperatives of the times were doomed within a few generations
to disappear and become historical footnotes. Only those who
adhered unswervingly to the values and traditions of
authentic Torah would survive and for that reason Ohr
Somayach Sandton, a kehilla firmly rooted in that
tradition, represented not just the present of South African
Jewry but its future as well.
