Academics & Research

Holocaust Torah to be displayed in library

Brothers of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, Jason Bravman and Matthew Boutin-Bloomberg (right) and Yuval Klein (left), pose for a picture in front of the Torah.  |  Image courtesy of Yuval Klein

Brothers of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, Jason Bravman and Matthew Boutin-Bloomberg (right) and Yuval Klein (left), pose for a picture in front of the Torah. | Image courtesy of Yuval Klein

UH faculty, alumni, students of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and the Houston Jewish community recently dedicated a specially designed Plexiglas case to display the Holocaust Torah No. 1518 in the Special Collections Room of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library.

The artifact is one of 1,564 Torah scrolls gathered by the Memorial Scrolls Committee of the Westminster Synagogue of London in 1964, after the end of World War II, UH said in a press release.

“It is important for something like this, which is really a living document for the Jewish community, to be seen as something that is appreciated,” said Rabbi Kenny Weiss, executive director of the Houston Hillel.

UH English professor Irving Rothman was one of the main benefactors who worked to obtain the Torah in 1976 and is also responsible for the project to raise funds for a new display case.

Previously, the document was only brought out for Jewish holiday services.

After he started teaching Jewish-American literature, Rothman discovered that none of his students were aware of the Torah being preserved on campus and decided it was imperative to make arrangements to have it permanently displayed.

“I wrote letters in March 2012 to Jewish faculty on campus and others I thought would be interested in making donations for the construction of the display case. Responses were quick,” Rothman said.

Rothman said he was also responsible for locating a plastics fabricator who could design and build the case, which required ultra-violet acrylic to prevent light from harming the ink on the Torah. The special design also enables readers to turn the Torah to different pages while in the display case.

“The Torah is really an impressive thing for students to see. They are able to see what a book would look like before printing, when people had to inscribe each letter by hand,” Rothman said.

As a literary artifact, the Torah represents more than 2,000 years of scribal tradition, with Jews throughout the world reading the codified five books of Moses.

The Torah describes the history of the Jews and the religious perception of world history with Judaism considered a religious civilization.

“The Torah is a symbol of Jewish student life at the University of Houston,” Weiss said. “As a Torah rescued from the Holocaust, it represents Jewish continuity.”

Torahs confiscated during the Holocaust were torn and mutilated, Rothman said. The Prague Holocaust Torah reveals multiple leaves with small and large patches, as well as new lettering inscribed according to tradition.

Rothman said it is important for the world to never forget the horrors of the Holocaust and the forces still in the world that wish to exterminate Jews.

“It is shocking in the 21st century to read about people who want to slaughter Jews and bring about another Holocaust,” Rothman said.

“That is why it is important to let people know about the past, so that it won’t repeat itself. The 20th century proved to be the bloodiest century in the history of the world — no repetition should be allowed in the present world.”

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