A scroll through time in San Mateo

Oakland Tribune, Jun 3, 2005 by Nicole Neroulias, STAFF WRITER

"Mazel tov" -- congratulations -- are in order for Chabad of the North Peninsula, an Orthodox Jewish group that got its first Torah this week.

The secondhand biblical scroll cost $15,000, less than half the price of a new one. But for the small band of worshipers that meet in a San Mateo office complex, the value of having their own Torah exceeds any price tag.

A few miles north, another prized Torah -- estimated at 600 years old -- was reported stolen at Peninsula Temple Sholom last week. Burlingame police are taking tips and monitoring eBay listings while the Reform synagogue's members heighten security and pray the thief comes forward.

From a spiritual standpoint, the Torah -- God's instructions to the Jewish people -- is priceless. People run into burning buildings to rescue the handwritten scrolls; those that can no longer be used are ceremonially buried. Most communities scrimp and save to buy one; those that have several Torot to spare still mourn a loss -- by age or theft -- as deeply as if they only had one.

Survivors

It takes a year for a scribe to create a new Torah. It took longer for Chabad of the North Peninsula to raise enough money to buy one used.

The only Orthodox Jewish group in San Mateo County, Chabad NP was founded by Rabbi Yossi Marcus three years ago. The group's weekly services used a Torah borrowed from the Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City, where Marcus' wife, Esty, also teaches.

One of the 40 worshipers, Alex Vigdorchik, of Redwood City, wanted to help the shul -- Yiddish for synagogue -- buy a Torah in memory of his father, Avigdor Vigdorchik. The Vigdorchiks contributed more than half the money toward a Torah that had survived the Holocaust, preferably from their part of Ukraine.

"I wanted one that survived World War II because my father survived," Alex Vigdorchik said. "This Torah will make him proud."

Through Rabbi Aaron Shaffier, a Los Angeles-based scribe who also deals in secondhand Torot, Chabad NP chose an eastern European Torah sold at an estate sale in Israel. Over Memorial Day weekend, the Marcus family drove to Los Angeles to pick up the 100-year-old scroll.

"We kept it standing up in the car, buckled up," he said, smiling through his bushy black beard. "You're always a little bit nervous with the Torah."

After surviving the Holocaust in exile in Central Asia, the Vigdorchiks spent two more decades in Soviet-era Ukraine, forbidden from observing their faith. In 1976, they immigrated to America.

Tradition

Avigdor Vigdorchik died in 2000, at the age of 60. Now, his three grandsons will read from his memorial Torah at their bar mitzvah ceremonies when they turn 13, Alex Vigdorchik said proudly.

Although they have sentimental and historic value, Torot that survived the Nazi regime are usually worth half as much as brand new ones, even if they are kosher -- in perfect condition.

"Practically, most people want to purchase something new because they feel more confident it will hold up for a longer period of time," Shaffier said. "This Torah isn't being purchased as a collector's item, it's being used for the synagogue."

A single smudged letter renders a Torah useless for synagogue services until repairs are made, although it could still be used for dancing or teaching purposes.

A kosher Torah sells for $8,000 to $20,000; a new one sells for $30,000 to $50,000. But there are exceptions. David Pollock, administrator for New York-based Universal Torah Registry, knows of damaged Torot in private collections that would fetch more than $300,000.

"There are some, for example, that are stained and damaged, because they were tossed in the street in New York during the Revolutionary War," he said. "There are also those surviving from China that are exceptionally valuable."

Protection

On the Internet, Torot are available at bargain prices -- for a reason, Pollock said.

Formed in response to a surge in thefts in 1982, the Universal Torah Registry has registered more than

10,000 Torot worldwide. As a result, thefts have dwindled to a mere handful a year, usually committed by someone familiar with the synagogue, Pollock said.

Familiarity with the schedule and stock of Torot at Burlingame's Peninsula Temple Sholom may have worked to the thief's advantage, allowing the crime to go unnoticed for several days. The perpetrator left the stolen Torah's cover and several less valuable Torot behind, including a survivor Torah from Czechoslovakia, said James Carlson, synagogue spokesman.

If the Torah has been registered, the thief will have a tough time selling it without being discovered, however. The 10 tiny dots placed in designated margins on the scroll make it identifiable to law enforcement officials and insurance companies working with the Registry and monitoring Web sites like eBay, Pollock said.

Carlson declined to discuss whether the stolen 600-year-old Torah had been registered or insured.

Protected

As the most valuable item in the synagogue -- both religiously and monetarily -- a Torah should be protected at all times, Pollock said. He advises clients to keep it locked in the ark or a vault on weekdays, surrounded by a security system.