Letter from Co-Chairs

What is the 613th Mitzvah in the Torah?  For every Jew to write a Torah scroll.  Together, through our new Mitzvah 613 Project, every NSS Beth El congregant is invited to bring this mitzvah to life!  The countdown to a completed scroll will begin on May 22, 2022 and conclude May 21, 2023.  

Here’s how it works:  a professional Sofer – scribe – will spend the next year writing the Torah for our Beth El community,  in Israel and in person at NSS Beth El. Once a Torah section is almost completed, the Sofer will come to our synagogue so that our members and their loved ones can each share in the sacred moment when letters are set down on the parchment of Beth El’s newest Torah.  

Writing a Torah is a lasting legacy, the truest expression of L’Dor V’Dor – “from generation to generation” – and the Torah we create this year will physically be in the hands of future NSS Beth El generations.  As our own Rabbi Schwab says, “Torah is ‘etz hayim hee’ – it is the tree of life for those who hold fast to it.  Torah represents the foundation of our religious tradition.  And, you can personally fulfill the last mitzvah in the Torah – to write a Sefer Torah for yourself.”

The Sofer will be at Beth El at various times throughout the coming year.  Click here to see available sign-up dates.

Consider adding a deeper level of meaning to Mitzvah 613 with a donation that can underwrite a letter, or extend to verses and beyond.  Your contribution will help the congregation dedicate our newest Torah and help us maintain the strength of our religious school and physical space.  Multiple opportunities are available.  Whether you donate $6.13 at the L’Dor V’Dor level or give as a Guardian or Visionary of the Torah, your participation in this exciting experience is invited. 

 To find out more about donor opportunities,  or how to get involved, please contact: Judy Berkeley, Membership & Development Director at (312) 720-0045 or mitzvah613@nssbethel.org