A Torah's Aliyah

If it could speak, one Sefer Torah given to Israeli border policemen in March 2006 would have an exciting tale to tell.

Created in Poland during the early part of the 20th century, the scroll survived the Holocaust, and was eventually housed at the Randallstown Synagogue in Baltimore. But when the congregation closed in 2003, they found the Torah needed expensive repairs. The synagogue's former president read about efforts to provide Israeli border police stations with Torah scrolls, so the congregation decided to repair and donate their scroll. Graduating seniors at the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Baltimore adopted the project, and the school raised $6,000 for necessary repairs.

"Everyone in the school participated, from preschool to high school students," notes Zipora Schorr, the school's director of education.

As part of their senior class trip, the 12th grade students traveled to Poland to visit concentration camps, carrying the scroll the entire time. From Poland, they traveled to Israel and marched proudly to the Kotel with the Torah. Later, it was donated to the border police.

For Jonathan Kalish, then 17, the dedication ceremony was bittersweet. "The Torah had been with me wherever I went-from the plane to the bus, it was always at my side," he explains. "But I was happy to pass on this symbol of our Jewish heritage to our brothers and sisters in Israel."