"You shall teach these words to your children, in your home and when you are away."
These words come from the tree of life, our Torah. Yet, we rarely have a Torah in our homes to show our children.
For our 40th Anniversary, we want to extend a bridge between the Torah that is learned at Temple Emanu-El and the Torah that is learned in your homes. Cross that bridge with us in our 40th year with Tova and the Traveling Torah.
All the children of our congregation have literally made their mark on a special ark carrying a Torah made just for them. Parents, you have the opportunity to physically bring Torah into your homes, to spend Shabbat around our sacred text, and to open your children’s eyes to the magic of our holy tradition. Follow these instructions to bring Tova and the Traveling Torah home with you:
Tova and the Traveling Torah
Instructions
Pick up Torah
Pick up the Torah at Temple Emanu-El on Friday by 2:30pm.
What's Inside
Inside the Ark you will find Tova (a doll), the Traveling Torah, and a journal.
Suggested Activities
Feel free to spend your Shabbat weekend wherever you feel inspired. Share your Shabbat with Tova and experience what our first congregants experienced when they took Temple Emanu-El’s traveling Ark from home to home.
Don’t forget to write in the journal and write whatever memories of the weekend you wish to share.
Email your photos (with descriptions) to Marina Alberhasky. She will upload them to the Facebook page “The Journeys of Tova and the Traveling Torah”.
Feel free to print one or two pictures at home and put them in the journal as well!
Return
Please return the Ark, Tova, and the journal to Temple Emanu-El on Sunday by 1:00pm.
Questions
If you have any questions about the Tova and the Traveling Torah program, please contact Mickey Rosner.
Thank you so much for participating in the Tova and the Traveling Torah program. This program was created to help our congregants relive some of the experiences our founders had as they worshiped from place to place with their traveling ark. In the very beginning, Temple Emanu-El was a group of individuals who desired to form their own Reform congregation. Their Ark would travel to all their services, which were held in different places.
Fun Fact: Did you know the first High Holiday service at Temple Emanu-El was actually held in a bank!
