מאגר סיפורי מורשת

אוצר אנושי מתוכנית הקשר הרב-דורי

Scrolling in Time

Sefer Torah filled with family history
Dylan Benhamou and His Sefer Torah
History Through the Sefer Torah

My Family Story display is a Sefer Torah and like any other Torah scrolls, the precious parchment inside contains the history of the Jewish people. But the scrolls in my Sefer Torah are a little different: they represent historical moments in time where my family roots identified with their faith, the state of Israel, and Jewish traditions,and it carries significant items that connect my family to other Jews around the world.

In the scrolls, you can find my grandparents story about their immigration from India, Burma, Algeria and Morocco, and symbolic Jewish items such as the silver engraved kiddush cup that was given to my grandparents on their wedding day. Today I watch my grandfather recite the kiddush every Friday night using that same cup. Internally imbedded in my scrolls, you can also find my grandfather’s childhood Iraqi tunes that he carried with him to Kahal Joseph Congregation in Los Angeles which he co-founded and continues fulfilling his role as Senior Hazan.

My other grandfather, who made Aliya to Israel, used to worked as a tailor and learned the skill of braiding tzitziyot. He and his work is portrayed on my display and remembered daily when my father puts on his tefillin and wears a tallit blessed with techelet braided by his father.

If you look carefully, you can see my grandmother’s scarves hugging my Torah display. Much like on my display, she used to wear them as head coverings and the stitched fabrics, carefully made, symbolically supported her connection to her community, to Jewish values, and to family traditions. My family continues to write their story.

הזוית האישית

Internally imbedded in my scrolls, you can also find my grandfather’s childhood Iraqi tunes that he carried with him to Kahal Joseph Congregation in Los Angeles which he co-founded and continues fulfilling his role as Senior Hazan.

מילון

Sefer Torah
a scroll containing the Torah or Pentateuch.

ציטוטים

”The precious parchment of Torah scrolls contain the history of the Jewish people.“

הקשר הרב דורי