The weather was warm and the dogs were hot.  It was a great day for a picnic.  A couple of dozen people came to the Synagogue to munch on hot dogs and enjoy fruit, salads, and some very tasty desserts.  It was our annual summer picnic.  We usually hold it on the 4^th of July, but since the 4^th fell on Saturday, we moved the picnic to Sunday.

Here are some photos of the picnic:

Back in 1919, a man named Sam Marchick donated a Torah to Mt. Sinai.  He donated a second one in 1921.  According to an article in the Wyoming Tribune from 1921, Marchick commissioned the second Torah in Jerusalem and had it shipped to Cheyenne.

The Synagogue has taken very good care of the Torahs since.  In 2018, we had a Sofer Rabbi examine them.  That’s a specialist in the care and origins of Torahs.  The Sofer looked at all seven of the Synagogue’s Torahs and said they were in very good shape.  We recorded his presentation to the community, and you can see it here:

A descendant of Sam Marchick, Joshua Ambush, has asked the Synagogue if we could give or sell him one of the Marchick Torahs.  Mr. Ambush says he wants to start a new congregation in Baltimore to serve people with special needs, and he would use one or both Torahs for that.  He also offered to make a donation to Mt. Sinai if we gave him one or both Torahs.

Mr. Ambush has hired a Sofer Rabbi to come to Cheyenne and examine the Torahs.  He will be here this week.

The Ritual and Liturgy Committee and the Board of Directors have not made any decisions concerning the request.  One reason is that we were asked to hold off until he hired a Sofer Rabbi to look at the Torahs.

However, it is an interesting development tied to Mt. Sinai’s history and we thought you would like to know about it.

As far as Synagogue events go, we have nothing major planned.  Cheyenne Frontier Days is coming up, along with summer vacations and other activities outside the Synagogue.  Shabbat services, Torah Study on Fridays, and Israeli folk dancing will continue through the summer, and we’ll be planning more classes and activities for the fall.  So all of our regular activities are continuing.

Here’s our Yiddish Phrase of the Week:

Mir zukhn a shpilke in a vogn hey.
We’re looking for a pin in a hay wagon.  

Shalom,