New Torah symbolizes synagogue's rejuvenation

Rabbi A. Leib Bolel spread out a Torah on a table at Beth El Jacob Synagogue on Des Moines' western edge.

The wooden handles were worn. Some of the ornate decorations once embedded in the handles had broken off.

But the parchment was largely unblemished.

The handwritten Hebrew text was faded but legible. The stitches that held the columns together were frayed in spots, but they held.

This particular Torah was one of four at Beth El Jacob, all of them at least 100 years old.

"No one knows for sure how long it has been since the last Torah was purchased here," Bolel said. "One of our members is in his 90s. He said all of the ones we have now were here when he came. We believe they are all from before World War I."

The scrolls are, in a way, a metaphor for the Orthodox synagogue that serves about 80 families in a humble building along Cummins Parkway.

Like the holy scrolls, the synagogue is old. Its roots date back to Jewish immigrants who came to Iowa in 1881 — the same year Drake University was formed.

The "IronRabbi"

The congregation, like the Torah, has faded in some ways.

In the 1940s, Beth El Jacob served more than 400 families and was the largest Jewish congregation in Des Moines. Five years ago, the synagogue served about 40 families.

That was before Bolel, an Englishman who studied his faith in Jerusalem, came to Beth El Jacob in 2011.

He pushed outreach and connection to the community, offering ministry to Jewish students at Iowa universities.

Bolel is a frequent contributor to the Register's editorial pages and the Jewish Press and is in demand as a speaker on radio and throughout the metro.

His energy has, in turn, brought new life to Beth El Jacob.

Membership has doubled to more than 80 families. Younger families are attending.

This is no easy feat given that Jews make up less than 1 percent of Iowa's religious composition and less than 2 percent of faith followers nationwide, according to Pew Research Center data.

Yet, under Bolel, life is blossoming in the old synagogue.

"He is our IronRabbi," said Marty Grund, a member of Beth El Jacob, referring to Bolel's participation in Ironman triathlons — 140.6 miles of swimming, biking and running.

Bridging generations

Grund's family has attended the synagogue for generations.

He is a stained-glass maker who has created a wall of windows in the main sanctuary and is creating stained glass skylights for the smaller chapel at Beth El Jacob.

Grund likes the energy of the athletic rabbi.

"He is youthful and has great vitality," Grund said. "People respond to him."

Bolel brushed off the praise, but he's gotten results. The momentum helped him suggest to his flock that it purchase a new Torah in the spirit of its ongoing revitalization.

Such a thing is not done lightly or cheaply. A Torah is handwritten by specially trained scribes. One can cost as much as $30,000.

But the commitment, both in faith and funding, was there.

"We raised the money almost entirely from inside the congregation," Bolel said. "There were a few outside donations from other synagogues and Jewish leaders. But most of it was from the Beth El Jacob community."

Only perfection will do

The Torah is the story of the creation of the universe and history of the Jewish people as given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai and Tabernacle.

Beth El Jacob, a traditional congregation, selected a firm in Jerusalem for the work.

It takes a year to write the narrative that forms the first five books of what Christians call the Old Testament.

Each letter must be perfectly formed on heavy parchment. A single mistake — a gap in a letter or a misplaced serif — invalidates the entire scroll.

"People who write the Torah are very serious in their faith," Bolel said. "They are not just doing it for a good salary. They believe it is their mission."

The final verses of the new Torah were to be written at Bolel's house by a scribe from Chicago. The local completion of the scroll adds to the sanctity and ownership of the Torah for the synagogue.

"If you go to the bookstore, there are many varieties of Bibles to choose from with many different translations and wordings," Bolel said. "But there is only one Torah. This is the way it has been for thousands of years."

On Sunday, Beth El Jacob held its first services with its new Torah.

The rituals and texts that produced it may be ancient, but for Beth El Jacob, the sacred scroll is something new as well.

It's about revitalization.

DANIEL P. FINNEY, the Register's Metro Voice columnist, is a Drake University alumnus who grew up in Winterset and east Des Moines. Reach him at 515-284-8144 or dafinney@dmreg.com. Twitter:@newsmanone.