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Description
Documents relating to the purchase, shipping and exchange of two Sefer Torah scrolls from Israel for use at Cardiff New Synagogue, Cardiff and Tel Aviv, 23 June 1963 - 28 October 196, purchased by Peter Bogod, the Cardiff New Synagogue's warden at the time4.
The first item is a quotation for the provision of a scroll for £375, from Ziskind Finkelstein, a producer and exporter of religious artefacts, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Image 2 is confirmation by Peter Bogod of the scroll he wishes to purchase from Mr Finkelstein, in Israel and that it should be posted by air mail.
Image 3 is the invoice for the cost of the Sefer Torah scroll, which was complete with Etz Chaim (the wooden poles to which the parchment of a Sefer Torah is attached), plus the airfreight and insurance costs.
Images 4, 5 and 6 highlight the carriage costs, documentation, and insurance for the Torah scroll. This includes correspondence with Rogers and Bright (South Wales) LTD, ship brokers, chartering and liner agents, and insurance brokers, who handled the Torah scroll's customs entry, clearance and airport handling.
Images 7 and 8 explain how the original Torah scroll purchased in 1963 was found to be too heavy to be used by the congregation at Cardiff New Synagogue. Peter Bogod proposed to Mr Finkelstein, to exchange the Torah scroll, but not the Etz Chain, for a lighter one of the same size but with smaller writing. The scroll was exchanged by Peter Bogod when he visited Israel 18 October 1964, for a lighter but also smaller scroll of 45cm from Mr Finkelstein, completed 28 October 1964.
Images 9-14 are insurance documents relating to the carriage of the scroll.
Images 15-17 continue the correspondence relating to the exchange of the original scroll for a more suitable one.
Image 17 is the invoice for the supply of the new scroll.
The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to the immigrants who had fled the war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The congregation worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace they acquired in 1952.
Sources:
JCR-UK: Jewish Communities & Records, Cardiff Reform Synagogue, Cardiff, Wales (2020) https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card1/index.htm [accessed 14 March 2024]
Parry-Jones, Cai, The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales (doctoral thesis, Bangor University, 2014)
https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/20579001/null [14 March 2024]
Depository: Glamorgan Archives.
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