800 Year Old Sephardic Sefer Torah From Spain and the Island of Rhodes
Was on display in Los Angeles, September 2003
The extraordinary story pertaining to this Sefer Torah is that it was written
and used in Spain for 300 years prior to the Spanish Inquisition in 1492,
it is believed that it was then taken with the Sephardic Jewish refugees
with them when they resettled on the Island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea.
One of the oldest Sefer Torah scrolls in the world was publicly
displayed for the first time in the United States at the
Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel on Sunday, September 21, 2003.
The opportunity to see the ancient scroll attracted hundreds of people, including many
Sephardic Jews, whose ancestors were from the Island of Rhodes.
Torah Unveiling by Aron Hasson and Stella Levi:
September 21, 2003 Audience at Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel.
"Jewish Life in Rhodes” Exhibition Photos
Background History of the 800 Year Old Sefer Torah From Rhodes:
In September 1943 the German military commanders took control of Rhodes.
Several months later, recognizing an escalation of insecurity, the Jewish
community leaders gave their Torahs to the Turkish community leaders for safe keeping.
Sadly, in July 1944, the Jews of Rhodes were deported to Auschwitz where most of them were murdered.
After the War, the Torahs were returned to the few people of the Jewish community that survived.
In 1984, the President of the Jewish Community of Rhodes, Maurice Soriano,
transferred possession of this particular ancient Sefer Torah to the Chalom
synagogue in Buenos Aires, Argentina which consisted of many Jews from Rhodes.
This was facilitated by Salvador Notrica, then President of the Chalom synagogue.
In 2001, the Sefer Torah was scientifically measured using the Carbon-14 dating analysis
and was found to be approximately 800 years-old.
The scroll was examined by the institute "Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas",
a department of the University of Buenos Aires.
This revealed a significant Jewish historical link to Rhodes, as well as a special
insight into early Judaic religious writings.
In January 2002, Aron Hasson, the Founder of The Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation,
traveled to Buenos Aires to make arrangements of having the Sefer Torah on display in the United States.
The Sefer Torah arrived in Los Angeles in April 2003.
Research and Analysis Confirms the Sefer Torah's
Sephardic Origin From Spain and Portugal
During the summer of 2003, the Sefer Torah has been studied and analyzed by several Judaic scholars, including "sofers" (scribes who write the Torahs).
We have learned that there are many different indications which give clues as to a Sefer Torah's age and origin.
The following are some of the easier examples without getting too technical:
- Modern Torahs all have 42 lines per column, while the Rhodes Torah has 45 lines per column.
- The Hebrew letter "lamed" is now written with a "cap" at the top, while the Rhodes Torah has a "straight" top.
- When the letters "nun" and "yud" are next to each other they are separate letters, while the Rhodes Torah has the "nun" extend below the "yud".
- In order to have the left and right columns even, some letters are elongated. In the Rhodes Torah the letter "shin" is elongated, unlike modern Torahs.
Initial research verifies that the particular Hebrew writing and spacing style dates back to the time of Maimonides of the 12th century, as well as confirming its Sephardic origin from the Iberian Peninsula.
Further investigative research will be conducted under the aegis of The Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation to determine
the religious and historical significance of this special treasure.
August 21, 2003 photo taken in the Levy Family Library of the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel,
of Rabbi David Rue analyzing the Hebrew characters and spacing of the Sefer Torah with Aron Hasson observing.
Examples of Various Hebrew Characters
Sample of Section of Elongated Letters:
An article was written in the Los Angeles Times
By Daniel Hernandez
Times Staff Writer
September 22, 2003
To view a film clip made by the local California TV station KCAL, click
HERE
Warning: The video clip is 6MB in size, so on a 56K modem - it will take around 15 minutes.