Torah case now has a Torah scroll

For years, docents at the N.C. Museum of Art complained to curator John Coffey that it was hard to explain the purpose of the intricately engraved silver Torah case without the Torah itself.

"Once you put a scroll in there people will get it," docent Sue Finkel told Coffey.

Finkel, also co-chairwoman of the Friends of the Judaic Art Gallery, recently worked with Coffey and other gallery members to buy a Torah scroll to fit in the case.

Two months ago, a 19th century scroll from Morocco was finally mounted in the case. Tonight, as Jews around the world file into synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur, they will rise from their seats and face the Torah -- the most sacred ceremonial object in the Jewish faith, a handwritten scroll containing the first five books of the Bible.

In August, a pair of Brooklyn rabbis came down to the museum to install the Torah in the case, called a "tik" in Hebrew. The museum bought the case nearly 30 years ago as an example of the kind of artistic embellishments lavished on Torah containers. While the case stands alone as a piece of art -- it was made by an Iraqi artist and dedicated in 1908 -- it helps that it now has the object for which it was made.

The scroll, made of vellum, a fine parchment made from animal skin, cost $11,000 and is dedicated to Elmo and Hannah Scoggin of Raleigh, a Baptist couple who have been dear friends to the Triangle Jewish community. Before retiring, Elmo Scoggin taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. His wife, Hannah, was a longtime museum docent.

About 60 of the Scoggins' friends, family and colleagues contributed money toward its purchase. Their goal was to make the gift in honor of the Scoggins, who had made numerous contributions to the gallery over the years.

The scroll was recently retired from use at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. It was crafted in Morocco and apparently made its way to Israel as part of the Moroccan Jewish immigration to the Jewish state.

The case and the scroll will remain on exhibit until January when the entire gallery is dismantled for the new museum.