Community Corner

See Why Hundreds Will Parade Through the Streets of Newton on Friday

Temple Beth Avodah will kick off its 50th year in grand fashion.

On Friday evening, hundreds of people will be marching through the streets of Newton carrying a sacred item in celebration of half a century of history in the city.

Members of Temple Beth Avodah will kick off the celebration of 50 years in Newton by bringing a brand new Torah – a massive scroll of Jewish holy scripture – to the temple at 45 Puddingstone Lane in Newton Centre.

“For folks who have never seen this before, it will be a big Newton happening,” said Rabbi Keith Stern, rabbi at Temple Beth Avodah.

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Members of the congregation will take turns carrying the scroll and it will be carried under a bridal covering called a chuppah. The parade begins at Memorial Spaulding Elementary School, 250 Brookline St. in Newton, at 5 p.m. and ends at the temple.

The Torah was created by a rabbi in Israel, but some of the letters were only outlined, so families from the temple came and filled a letter, Stern said.

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“The idea really is that the temple community all comes out to officially welcome the Torah. Every family in the congregation united to literally make it their own by being invite to scribe a letter,” Stern said. “We had an astonishing 85 percent of families of the congregation participate - for 85 percent to participate in anything astounding.”

The temple has three Torahs, but this will be the first new one for the congregation, said Stern, who has been at Temple Beth Avodah for 17 years.

“It’s really extraordinary. When you have torah, you never know all people who have held it. Unless have papers on it, it is hard to know how old it is and where it has been,” Stern said. “To have it and know who will be holding it and where it has been - for me it is a once in a lifetime experience.”

The celebration will continue well after Friday night, including a family weekend, a musical review and a gala celebration.


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