Temple Sinai and the History of Sefer Torahs
Temple Sinai is commissioning a new Torah scroll from Linda Coppleson . It will be the first Sefer Torah in the Western Pennsylvania region to be written by a Soferet, or female scribe— and one of only a few such Torahs in the world.

The project inspired the Rauh Jewish Archives to look into the history of Sefer Torah dedications throughout Western Pennsylvania. There have been more than 100 Torah scrolls commissioned by Jewish organizations in this region going back to 1860. The Torah projects reveals hidden patterns of Jewish migration, communal involvement, and spiritual practice in this community.

For those who missed this presentation at the recent Tikkun Leil Online event, Temple Sinai is hosting an online encore on Wednesday, July 24 at 7 p.m. It will place the Temple Sinai project is the context of regional Jewish history.
[IMAGE: A certificate from a Sefer Torah Dedication at Poale Zedeck Congregation in 1991, sponsored by Berta Fogel (MSS 595)]
The Nine Jobs of Barney May
Baruch May  was the son of a Bavarian farmer and cattle dealer. His first job was bringing lunc h and beer to the field hands, who worked several miles from town. His second job was working in the fields. His third job was peddling trinkets through Quebec and Ontario, where he had immigrated in 1858, at 15, to join a sister and brother-in-law who had opened a jewelry store in Montreal. On the road, he learned English and started going by "Barney."
[IMAGE: Pauline and Barney May, from “The Story of Barney May, Pioneer,” by George M. P. Baird.]
The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives was founded in 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa.
We can do it, Pittsburgh

The Heinz History Center, Fort Pitt Museum, Meadowcroft, and the Detre Library & Archives will reopen to the public on  Wednesday, July 1 .  
A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the  Senator John Heinz History Center  is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.