November 29th marks the annual commemorative event organised by the  Westminster Synagogue Scrolls Committee to remember the lives of those from the towns of Hořovice, Horažd’ovice and Přeštice whose fate ended with starvation and death. We are proud that we read from these scrolls on the occasions of Bar/Bat Mitzvah and festival services, thus making this service a celebration of life, looking into the future with optimism whilst remembering the past.

We most cordially invite you to attend our significant event of remembrance which will be held in person, as well as streamed online.

During the memorial service, where we remember the names of each family that was lost from our Scroll Towns, we will also be hearing from Soferet Jen Taylor Friedman about the unique Haftarah Scroll from Boskovice that is on display in our Marble Hall, along with the fascinating process that goes into repairing a Scroll.

In 2007, Soferet Friedman became the first woman known to have completed a Torah scroll and has worked on megillot and Torah scrolls around the world. She has an MA in Jewish Studies from McGill, for which she wrote a history of the material culture of tefillin, and is presently working on a doctorate about medieval Torah scrolls. She is notorious for having created Tefillin Barbie, who has been featured in several publications describing twenty-first century Judaism. She has trained a number of Torah scribes in various parts of the world to write Torah scrolls of their own and we’re honoured that she is able to join us for this special occasion.

After the service, we invite you to join us for refreshments at around 8:00pm, as we raise a glass in their memories. During the refreshments, Rabbi Kamila Kopřivová will be offering a tour of the Memorial Scrolls Trust Museum, located on the third floor of our building. The MST is the charity which has loaned our Torah Scrolls and who care for the 1,564 Czech Scrolls which were rescued in 1964. If you would like to join this tour to learn more about their story, please do let us know and we would be happy to arrange.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to be in touch.