Hillel Day School Dedicates Long-Awaited Torah Sunday in Farmington Hills

The final letter of a Torah scroll that has taken more than six months to complete will be written Sunday at Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills. 

In honor of former Detroit Pistons’ owner Bill Davidson, a staunch supporter of Jewish education, The William M. Davidson Sefer Torah, a handwritten and holy document, will be completed, dedicated and placed in the school’s chapel during a 9:45 a.m. event that is open to the public. 

The private school's Dean of Judaic Studies Saul Rube said that last October, students watched via video as sofer (scribe) Rabbi Tzvi Pincus began his work in New York. 

"We could literally see him write the first letter of the Torah," Rube said, adding there are 305,000 letters in the scroll, all written by hand. Pincus and other sofers worked on smaller sheets that were sewn together. 

Rube first noticed that one of the school's four Torah scrolls needed to be replaced when he became an administrator nine years ago. That scroll was buried, and this year's 8th graders recall witnessing the ceremony when they were in kindergarten. 

"It's a beautiful symbolism that we couldn't have planned," he said. 

The project will connect the ancient with the future, as it helped raise funds to improve technology at the school, including a one-to-one student PC tablet program and iPad carts for early childhood, kindergarten and first grade classes. 

"Each of these children will end up reading from this Torah at their bar or bat mitzvahs," Rube said. A chuppah, or canopy, used during Sunday's ceremony will also become a permanent part of the school's 8th grade graduation ceremonies. 

"This is a very, very special moment in the life of the school," he said. 

For more information about Hillel Day School, visit hillelday.org.