Chabad of Westlake welcomes a new Torah

LISA ADAMS/The AcornHEADING TO ITS NEW HOME - Rabbi Yitzchak Sapochkinsky (with wife Brokha) holds the new Torah that was transferred to the Chabad of Westlake Village. It was commissioned by Rabbi Moshe and Leah Sapochkinsky of Montreal, Canada, as a tribute to the memory of Leah's mother, Miriam Yagod, who immigrated from Russia in the early part of the century. The Torah was finished at the Agoura Hills Chabad and then traveled by motorcade to a new home in Westlake Village on Sunday.

Chabad of Westlake Village welcomed a new Torah to its sanctuary on Sun., July 2.

The new scroll was commissioned by Rabbi Moshe and Leah Sapochkinsky of Montreal, Canada, as a tribute to the memory of Leah’s mother, Miriam Yagod.

Written in Israel, the Torah was presented to the Westlake congregation where Rabbi Yitzchak Sapochkinsky serves as spiritual leader.

Miriam Yagod escaped from Russia and arrived in Canada in the early part of the 20th Century. Despite losing her husband in 1940, she struggled to support her family and ensure that her five children received a Jewish education.

Yagod died in 1998. Her daughter Leah chose a Torah as a way to honor her mother’s memory.

"My mother sacrificed a lot in her lifetime for the Torah. Her every fiber personified the teachings and beauty of Judaism."

Dedication ceremonies began with the filling in of the last few letters of the new Torah, making it complete and ready for use. This was accomplised in the Yossi and Rivkah Laine Sanctuary of Chabad of Agoura, 30345 Canwood St., Agoura Hills. Rivkah Laine is Yagod’s granddaughter.

It’s considered a privilege to inscribe a letter in a Torah and the Sapochkinskys’ family and friends were given the opportunity.

The Torah then traveled in a car parade from Agoura to its new home at 741 Lakefield Road, Westlake Village. Music, dancing and festive prayers accompanied the celebration, which was led by a decorated Torah float.

For more information about Chabad, call (818) 991-0991.