Weekly Message from our Board President

The answer is no.  Several months ago, a man named Joshua Ambush asked Mt. Sinai for one of its Torahs.  The specific Torah was donated by Sam and Lille Marchick around 1920, and Mt. Sinai has used it and carefully maintained it since then.  We have a total of seven Torahs.

Joshua Ambush is a descendant of the Marchicks.  He lives in Pikesville, Maryland, outside of Baltimore.  He wants to create a new congregation to serve disabled and challenged children. 

Members of the Board of Directors struggled with the decision.  Mr. Ambush’s goals were laudatory, but the Marchicks donated the Torah to Mt. Sinai with the intention that it become part of our Synagogue.

We publicized the request through our newsletter, and on our website and in Facebook.  Then we began hearing from other descendants of the Marchicks.  We received letters, emails, and phone calls from other members of the Marchick family.  All were very opposed to our giving the Torah to Mr. Ambush.  Those opinions counted for a lot.

Last week, after another lengthy discussion, the Mt. Sinai Board of Directors voted to decline Mr. Ambush’s request and keep the Torah at the Synagogue.  We let Mr. Ambush and the other members of the family know.

Mr. Ambush was grateful that we gave his request serious consideration.  Other members of the family were happy with the Board’s decision, and some said they might return to Mt. Sinai in the spring for a reunion, and to see their ancestor’s donation.  We promised to welcome them and possibly hold a Torah service so they could receive Aliyahs and come up to read from the Marchick Torah.

Noah Make is a freshman, just getting settled in to his new home at Drexel University in Philadelphia.  But Laramie County isn’t quite done with him.  He just learned he received the national grand prize of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes’ 2026 Discovery Award.  That meant a check for $6,000 and national recognition.  Noah created an 11 minute documentary about the work of Armin T. Wegner.  Wegner was a photographer who documented the Armenian genocide in 1915.  As part of his research, Noah interviewed Wegner’s descendants.  Noah is the son of Jonathan Make and Courtney Schlisserman.  You can see the documentary here, and it is very well done:  https://www.lowellmilkencenter.org/competitions/discovery-award/entry/armin-t-wegner-against-the-silence

Happy Sukkot!  Sukkot is coming up this weekend.  On Friday, you’re invited to dinner in the Sukkah in the Synagogue’s back yard at 5 PM.  It will be followed by our Sukkot and Shabbat service.  Rabbi Delcau will also be leading services Saturday morning, starting at 9 AM.  That’s earlier than usual for our Saturday morning services.

A couple of other quick notes about last week’s Board meeting.  The Board set the date for the Hanukah party – it will be Sunday, December 6.  And the annual congregation meeting will be Sunday, December 20.  You’ll hear more about both of these events as we get closer.

Here’s our Yiddish Phrase of the Week:

Er hot a matse-ponem.           
He has a matzo face.

Dave Lerner
President
Mt. Sinai Board of Directors

Community Partner with Family Promise of Cheyenne

September Birthdays

3      Cathy Berdan

5      Liz Wolf

9      Pewaubek Reid

10     Noah Make

       Shira Michael

       Craig Michael

11     Michael Sherman

12     Lou Brownstein

13     Navit Reid

16     Laurie Richmond

Dan Shadakofsky

19     Rich Nolan

20     David Lucero