CHAI Houston Welcomes Torah

More than 100 adults and almost as many children participated in the joyous ceremony of completing a Torah and dedicating it at the CHAI Learning Center of West Houston, 14133 Memorial Dr., on Monday, Sept. 6. This is CHAI’s first sefer Torah.

The center is one of seven branches under the auspices of Chabad of Texas that serves the greater Houston area. Responsible for its programs, Rabbi Dovid and Elisa Goldstein have created a nurturing environment for Jews in West Houston, welcoming all, regardless of affiliation or level of observance.

The center’s first program was held during the High Holy Days in 2005, in rented space in the Jewish Community Center West Houston. Now, the center includes a Hebrew school that currently has an enrollment of 40. After the High Holy Days, its popular Pizza in the Hut Sukkot party returns, and adult education programs for the coming season include the Jewish Learning Institute, a monthly Shabbaton, The Davening Club and a monthly Coffee for the Soul morning program.

CHAI Learning Center has been borrowing a Torah from Rabbi Moishe Traxler or the main synagogue of Chabad Texas, said Rabbi Goldstein. “The sefer Torah was purchased by Kobe Amsalem,” he continued, “in memory of his father, Yehudah ben Efraim Amsalem.” The Torah was brought to Houston from New York by scribe Rabbi Schmuel Klein of Brooklyn.

The evening began with CHAI friends and family writing – with the scribe – the last 50 letters of the scroll.

According to the printed program, it is customary to leave a sefer Torah incomplete to give people the honor to write a letter. “By doing this, it is as if they participated in the writing of the whole sefer Torah, for without their letter, the entire sefer is incomplete.”

Mark and Fran Katzenellenbogen and children Zak and Zoe were among many who were called to the Torah to write a letter. “Two years ago when Brith Shalom got a new Torah, all four of us were privileged to be able to write a letter in the Torah,” said Mark.

This time, though, it was even more special, the parents agreed, because Zak has since had his Bar Mitzvah and he was able to help guide the scribe’s hand. “It definitely was an honor to help Rabbi Goldstein in his endeavor to enhance the community on the west side,” said Mark.

For Fran, who was taking pictures, “It was beautiful to watch our family, and Zoe got to touch the Torah’s mantle.”

Following the completion of the Torah, the scroll was lifted and celebrated; then dressed; and under a chuppah, paraded around the building before placing it in the Ark. Prayers and dancing followed before guests enjoyed a seudat mitzvah, a meal in honor of the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah.
Rabbi Goldstein, who came to Houston from McAllen, Texas, 11 years ago, welcomed the guests during the meal. He described how Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Chabad rebbe of blessed memory, initiated a worldwide movement for everyone, even children, to write a Torah. And so, when the Goldstein brothers (Dovid and Phil) were young, two men came to his father’s wallpaper store in McAllen, inviting him to buy Hebrew letters. A member of the Reform congregation in McAllen, Goldstein’s father bought letters in honor of each of his sons.

Obviously, the story didn’t end there: Rabbi Goldstein told how he met Rabbi Klein at the Houston airport this rainy Labor Day. After greeting the New York rabbi, a Jewish traveler nearby expressed his angst about flying in inclement weather. But, all he really wanted to do was kiss the Torah scroll, said Rabbi Goldstein. “It was already doing its job,” he said. “And then,” Rabbi Goldstein told the audience, “the man put on tefillin.”