Backpack Torah Fund

For 22 years, we've been carrying our Torah up mountains and down canyons. We've read from it on the top of 14,000' peak and at the base of the Grand Canyon.

Thousands of people have held it, unrolled, to actively participate as teens becoming Bar or Bat Mitzvahs by chanting the ancient words.

Our Torah has created meaningful Jewish moments for more people than we can count.  

And, as a result, the scroll is literally falling apart at the seams. It is time to acquire a new one.

In the Fall of 2022, Rabbi Jamie flew to California to officiate at the Bat Mitzvah of Rene Jacobson. Can you imagine the tension when the Rabbi eased the Torah out of its carrying case only to discover the etz (the wooden roller) had broken off once again? Rene's dad Dean rushed out to buy wood glue, and tenaciously  "MacGyvered" it back together. 

Rene chanted beautifully from the Torah, and the community was moved by the poignancy of holding the scroll while she read. But there was no doubt that the scroll was in far worse shape than it was even a few years ago when her big brother Case Jacobson had read from it. The Torah's seams had torn in multiple places and sections with rips seemed more common than those without.

The Jacobson family had an idea. What if all the families who have held this Torah, invested in buying a new one that could be used by families in the future? What if they passed it forward? 

The Jacobsons generously donated a $7,000 matching grant.

When news of this check arrived, the Annes Family Foundation stepped up with a $1,000 donation in honor of Shari and Lori Annes' upcoming adult B'not Mitzvah with Paula Mayer. 

That motivated Shari Annes, Lori Annes, and Paula Mayer to each pitch in from their own funds.

And that motivated  Noah Finkelstein, Darby, and Marlin Krop, and Phoebe Young to pitch in honor of the many times their family has participated in our Torah circle!

Whose name can we type next?

Won't you please honor someone you love, by donating to our Torah fund?

 Help others experience the poignant experience created by a backpacking Torah.