Today, I read Torah for the Second Day of Rosh Hashanah, probably one of the most dramatic lines in all of Torah from the famous “Akedah,” or Abraham’s near sacrific of his son, Isaac on Mount Moriah. There’s some deliberate dramatic embellishment that use. (Genesis 22:11) וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֜יו מַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֣ם ׀ אַבְרָהָ֑ם … More Dramatic License: Chanting “Akeidat Yitzhak”
Our dear friend Roman Gronsky was featured in an article in the Jerusalem Report this month on his efforts as a Masters Swimming Champion but more importantly, for the purposes of this blog, as the President on the Olomouc Jewish Community. He was instrumental in facilitating the return of the Torah Scroll in 2017 to … More Roman Gronsky: A Modern Maccabean Hero (Jerusalem Report, November 7, 2022)
Our dear friend from Olomouc, Rudolf Dub passed away on July 9, 2022. He was fondly remembered by his community and was also quite a character, described by people who knew him best! Zichrono Livracha … More Rudolf Dub, z’l
In October, 2017 I visited the town of Ceske Budejovice on the way down to the beautiful Czech town of Ceske Krumlov (the Hearst Castle of the Czech Republic). Here is took a few minutes to bear witness to the town that once housed our Sefer Torah and the beautiful synagogue that once stood there. … More The beautiful Synagogue building of České Budějovice
I have been to Prague twice. Once in 1998, a few years after the 1989 Velvet Revolution where a repressive Communist Czechoslovakian government was peacefully overthrown by Vaclav Havel and his associates, and split into the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia. The second time, was in October, 2017, as part of a delegation … More How did the 1564 Scrolls get to Prague? Debunking a widely held myth
Yesterday, Rabbi Corey showed me something kind of cool that he discovered while cleaning his office a few weeks ago. It’s apparently part of the original rollers or staves (Atzei Chaim/עצי היים in Hebrew) from the České Budějovice Torah Scroll. Peninsula Sinai Congregation was originally allocated two Torah Scrolls in 1970, one from the Czech … More Part of the Original עצי היים/Atzei Chaim from the České Budějovice Scroll
Our good friend Roman Gronsky, from the Olomouc Jewish Community, who was primarily responsible for driving the return of the Memorial Scrolls Trust’s Scroll #740 to its ancestral home in October, 2017, published a very nice article in the November Issue of “CHAJEJNU,” (“Chayenu,” “Our Life”) the Olomouc Jewish Community’s monthly newsletter. He details his … More Roman Gronsky’s Article: “American wanderings in the footsteps of the Olomouc scroll Torah #740”
As most of you know, so many things have touched me about the Olomouc Torah story. The memories are flooding back as we approach the one-year anniversary of that amazing experience in a few days. One of the connections that sticks in my head is that of Mr. Peter Briess, who, as young boy, recalled … More Peter Briess’ Story
Come again? Dayton, Ohio? You mean halfway between Indianapolis, IN and Columbus, OH? Just a hop, skip and a jump up the road from Cincinnati, OH, THAT Dayton, OH? Well, yes…let me explain… A few weeks ago, as I was researching the story of the 7 remaining Torah Scrolls from Ceske Budeovice, the home of … More The Olomouc Story is now famous in Dayton, Ohio!
We are not alone. There are in fact several other scrolls from České Budějovice spread around the world! … More Yes, Virginia, there are several České Budějovice Scrolls
The Tao of Steve 