A Sefer Torah Inauguration, or Hachnasas Sefer Torah, has, thank G-d, become a fairly common occurrence in today’s world. Less common, though, is the background of the Sefer Torah that was completed and celebrated last Sunday at the Denver Community Kollel.
The Sefer Torah, commissioned by three generations of one family – the Sperber, Aragon and Singer families – was the culmination of a story that began in Poland during the Holocaust.
Henry Sperber lost much of his family to the Nazis. He himself barely managed to escape their clutches. While he was not observant, Henry’s wife Hannah was greatly interested in Judaism, and she put in great effort to ensure her children would be connected to their Jewish roots. This dedication was carried on by her daughter Pennie Aragon, who also invested much effort to provide a Jewish home and education for her two children.
Those efforts bore luscious fruit, as Pennie and her husband Jessie’s two children, Chaya Sarah and Ari, committed to a life of Torah. Today, Chaya Sara (Aragon) Singer and her brother Ari are raising their own families of Torah-committed children.
The idea of writing a Sefer Torah began with the encouragement of Rabbi Yechiel Erlanger of Aish of the Rockies, one of the founding members of the Denver Community Kollel, who has played a pivotal role in the journey of the entire Aragon family. When Jessie and Pennie Aragon were thinking of a special mitzvah they could undertake, Rabbi Erlanger suggested the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah.
Once the idea was embraced, it became clear that this Sefer Torah would represent the family’s journey from the ashes of the Holocaust to descendants who proudly carry the torch of Torah and Judaism.
It is thus not surprising that for many, this Hachnasas Sefer Torah was not just a celebration, but a very emotional experience of coming full circle. “This was truly the highlight of my Jewish journey and of my life,” said Hannah Sperber.
“Many people I spoke with expressed that they had no words for this event,” says Ari. “Chazal tell us that the final words of the Torah were written by Moshe with tears. The final letters of this Sefer Torah were also written with tears, so high was the emotion. People left the room to cry.”
The Hachnasas Sefer Torah featured the renowned Joey Newcomb, whose lively and engaging singing created an unforgettably exhilarating atmosphere as the Denver community danced the Sefer Torah up the block to its new home in the Kollel Bais Medrash.
Following the event, a private dinner for family and friends was held at Aish of the Rockies. Here, as well, speakers discussed the events that led to the writing of the Sefer Torah. Jerry Kernis, a long-time friend of the Sperbers and Aragons, discussed the many miracles that the Sperber and Aragon families experienced, from Henry’s survival to the family’s discovery of Aish of the Rockies and its founders, Rabbi Yaakov and Chaya Meyer.
Rabbi Yaakov Meyer expressed the importance of Jesse and Pennie maintaining a strong relationship with their children as they travelled on their path to full Torah observance. He noted that the Aragons now have a new child, and that Mrs. Sperber has a new great-grandchild – their new Torah scroll. “[This] child will last… for generations and generations, as long as they keep studying the Torah.”
