On Wednesday, March 19, Rabbi Ezra Frazer, the faculty leader of the Sephardic minyan, chauffeured Heschel’s first Sephardic Torah to campus.
The high school welcomed the Torah’s arrival with a Hachnasat Sefer Torah ceremony. This Jewish ritual typically involves writing the final words on the Torah, followed by dancing and presenting the new addition to the community. Although the minyan didn’t write the last words themselves, they proudly paraded the Torah through the atrium, surrounded by upbeat music and lots of dancing.
Heschel’s Sephardic minyan has rapidly expanded since its first tefillah session three years ago. In the beginning, it met only once a month. The following year, in 2023, it began meeting once a week; now, the minyan convenes daily.
Senior Charlotte Levine said, “Getting the Sephardic minyan Torah was a full-circle moment, as we’ve been waiting for it for so long. This minyan has meant so much to us all, and especially the seniors.”
Levine continued, “Our new Torah made our minyan feel seen and accepted. It was the defining moment that established our place in this school.”
Sophomore Yohatan Halevy shared how the addition of this Torah to their prayer space has drastically improved their dynamic. Halevy said, “While reading from an Ashkenazi Torah certainly fulfills the mitzvah of Kriat HaTorah, the privilege of reading from a Sephardic Torah made the experience even more authentic and exciting.”