Temples share the Torah

+ Temples share the Torah
Twenty-three years ago, Temple Sinai received a Torah on loan when it organized a new congregation in Sarasota.

And in recent weeks, it returned the favor, when it lent a Torah to the recently formed Kehillah of Lakewood Ranch.

During a Torah handoff ceremony, Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Geoff Huntting shared stories behind each of the temple’s Torahs, including the one lent to Kehillah, and attendees sang the Shehecheyanu blessing.

“For Temple Sinai to so graciously lend us their Torah represents the true meaning of kehillah, community,” says Brenda Schimmel, president of the Kehillah.

Although Temple Sinai is affiliated with Judaism’s Reform movement and the Kehillah is a Jewish Conservative congregation, both being in a small Jewish community means that the personal relationships between the clergy and lay people in the two congregations helped facilitate the exchange.

The Kehillah of Lakewood Ranch currently meets at The Windsor, an assisted-living facility in Lakewood Ranch, on the second and fourth Friday nights of the month and on the first and third Saturday mornings of the month. For more information, email [email protected].