CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Jewish community of River North and Fulton Market will celebrate the completion of its first Torah scroll.
The community will celebrate Sept. 15 when a certified ritual scribe uses a special quill to ink the final letters of the scroll.
The celebration will include a procession under a traditional canopy and live music, singing, and dancing.
The handwritten copy of the Torah contains as many as 84 sheets of parchment that are prepared according to exact specifications. It’s primarily written by a scribe in Israel. It contains 304,805 letters, takes months to complete and even a slight error renders the entire script void.
It will be housed at Chabad of River North and Fulton Markets and will be used for Shabbat and holiday services, including Rosh Hashanah, beginning Sept. 29.
