In celebration of our milestone anniversary and all of the families who make this community so special, we are creating a new High Holy Days Torah cover, woven together from pieces of fabric donated by our congregants.

“It was incredibly moving to read about the journeys many of these fabrics have taken, and what made them so significant to their owners” said Rabbi Steve. “This new Torah cover will represent beautifully all of these special memories, which when woven together create something extraordinary.”

Here are a few excerpts from some of our congregants’ stories:

This sash is from a kimono that my mother, Ellen Wolf (Solomon) purchased in China when she was a child. My mother and her family fled Berlin, Germany from the Nazis and ended up in Shanghai. Shanghai was considered an International city and would accept her family at the time. They lived just outside the primary area where most of the other Jews were required to stay. The reason being my grandfather was a physician and could stay near the office. Also, during this time, the Japanese were occupying China and were being bombed by the U.S., nearby and often. While this was going on, my mother made some money by teaching English to the other children and babysitting. It is with that money that she was able to purchase the kimono. Eventually they were able to immigrate to the United States and they became US citizens. My parents were among the founding members of Am Shalom and this would mean a great deal to my mother and father to be part of the High Holidays Torah cover.

Enclosed is some green fabric from a special skirt I bought when I studied in Italy while in college.

This is from a scarf of my mother’s. She died 45 years ago, and her memory is with me all the time. It would be an honor to have her be represented in the new covering. She wrapped her arms and love around me all the time.

This sweater is very meaningful to my family, particularly to me. It is a piece made by my grandmother. She was born in NYC in 1924 and started knitting in her married days. She knitted my mother’s bridesmaid dresses and she knitted my yarmulkes for my Bat Mitzvah. I recently saw that this sweater had a significant hold in one of its sleeves. I didn’t want to just throw out a piece of my grandmother’s beautiful knitting work and was thrilled to hear about the Torah cover project. I am hoping that a piece of this sweater can be used in the creation of the Torah cover. She was as beautiful and talented as her knitting and it feels like the perfect destination for this particular piece.

This napkin is one of a set of six which belonged to Mitch’s maternal grandmother, Bertha Stone. Bertha was born in May 1909 in Kyiv, Ukraine, a city we have heard a lot about in the last few months. She arrived in the US when she was in her 20s with her sister Clara, and both women worked long, hard days in the garment district in New York…Having this piece of cloth bound up in a Torah covering is a meaningful tribute to Bertha’s memory and to our family.

This quilted fabric was made by my grandmother who died while my mother, her daughter, was pregnant with me.

This piece of fabric is from my mother’s sofa – she loved that sofa! After she passed away, I found some extra fabric and had it made into a few cushions. The cushions sit on my sofa and make me think of her and smile.

This is the tie that I wore to my daughter’s wedding, here at Am Shalom.

Charlie Joan Davidson was named and blessed in the arms of our warm, loving Rabbi Steve complemented by Cantor Markowicz’s magnificent voice. It is an indelible image forever in our minds. Charlie was named after both of her great grandmothers, which made this milestone even more significant. This piece of the blanket she was wrapped in that day will always be a reminder of our precious blessing.

Enclosed please find a dress shirt that was one of my dad’s favorites – you know how much he loved and wore colorful collared shirts! He loved the vibrant colors and soft material of this one in particular. We would love for a part of it to be included in the new Torah cover for Am Shalom. The temple and Am Shalom’s wonderful Jewish community was so important to my dad and always held a special place in his heart.

This fabric is from a tie that Jules Perlberg loved to wear. Rarely would you see Jules without a tie! He did not like Casual Monday at his office because there was no tie required – he wore one anyway! He as the head of the family that produced two other families that became members of Am Shalom.