How a Connecticut Torah scroll traveled 50 years, and thousands of miles, to make aliyah - opinion

In East Hartford, Connecticut, the Jewish congregation Temple Beth Tefilah faced dwindling numbers, leading to its disbanding. Among its possessions was a Torah scroll, written in memory of a young boy named Avi Seth, who had passed away due to a rare complication of croup. The congregation's rabbi, Rabbi Michael Laxmeter, had left for Las Vegas in 2011 and joined a local synagogue there.

Jenny Markiewicz Rabinowitz, an active member of the synagogue, sought to reconnect with Rabbi Laxmeter using social media. She discovered his Facebook profile and reached out to him, realizing that they had both grown up in Colchester, Connecticut. They proved to be distant relatives, with Jenny's parents surviving the Holocaust and Rabbi Laxmeter's family immigrating from Russia.

Rabbi Laxmeter and Jenny connected, and he helped facilitate the transfer of the Torah scroll to Las Vegas. His wife, Judith Friedlander Laxmeter, and Rabbi Laxmeter's friend, Jeri Goldman, funded the move and ensured the scroll remained in good condition. The Torah was dedicated at a celebration marking Rabbi Laxmeter's 80th birthday.

However, Jeri and Rabbi Laxmeter later moved to Jerusalem, where they now reside in a senior independent living residence with its own synagogue. They decided to relocate the Torah once again, this time to Jerusalem. The senior independent living residence provided a specially outfitted padded case for the Torah's journey, and El Al accommodated the oversized item. The staff's respectful handling of the Torah was met with awe by passengers, as they had never encountered such a significant item on their flights.