(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)April 12, 2023

The Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Ramapo College will welcome and exhibit a Torah scroll on Monday, May 1, beginning at 4 p.m.  The Czech Memorial Scroll is from the Czech town of Kolín, which outlasted the furor of Nazism. The scroll belongs to a collection of 1,564 scrolls administered by the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London, which distributes the Torah scrolls on permanent loan bases to synagogues and other institutions around the world.

A ceremony featuring brief remarks from dignitaries, an address by Dr. Jacob Ari Labendz, director of the Gross Center, and a musical performance by Naomi Miller will be held in the Robert A. Scott Student Center, Friends Hall. A processional with the Torah scroll will follow to the Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons, home of the Gross Center, where it will be installed in the exhibition space. This event and the exhibit are open to the public. Registration is strongly encouraged as space is limited via this RSVP link.

The Gross Center hopes to function as the nexus of a multi-site exhibit, featuring Czech scrolls and their custodians in the region and beyond. While the exhibit will be primarily virtual, communities may produce beautiful, physical displays to tell the fascinating histories of the Czech scrolls and of their scroll’s community of origin. They will also script a lasting testament to their own community, its history, and its relationship to its Czech scroll.

All inquiries should be directed via email to Dr. Jacob Ari Labendz, director of the Gross Center: holgen@ramapo.edu. Visit The Gross Center website for more information about the scroll and the Jewish community of Kolín.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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