I promised you a story.....

and this is a doozy!

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to the Jewish quarter to say "hello" to the scribes that we met last year.  We had commissioned some work from them and bought two beautiful pieces that are framed in our home.  Now these are orthodox Jews; kippah, tallit (prayer shawl), phylacteries (leather box on head) and arm bands.  They even refused to shake hands with me because they are not allowed to touch a woman other than their family.  But they are very very nice people and eager to share their talents.

As we were looking around at their newest ideas, "Y" (I'll call him this to preserve his identity) excitedly showed me some Torah scrolls that he had been collecting and selling.  Some were in those beautifully decorated boxes made of everything from wood to metal, velvet coverings and ornate decor.  I just stood there stunned,......afraid to say much because I had been told it was next to impossible to get an orthodox Jew to sell a gentile a Torah scroll.  And even if they would, it would start in the 5 figures and go up from there.  I guess that price is understandable given the countless hours it takes to transcribe the Torah.....and all under the strictest guidelines....even down to the parchment skins.  Y told me a new scroll cost upwards of $50K.

Y was showing off his collection and I was nodding with amazement over each one.  Trepidatiously, I asked the price of a few of them to see if he was really offering to sell to us.  To make a long story short, not only was he willing but we came home with a 200 year old Torah scroll in a beautiful old velvet covering that did not break the bank (less than one of our airline tickets).  Both Bret and I looked at each other with mouths agape as we paid for it, watched them wrap it up and we parted with our treasure.  In fact, I barely remember the walk back to our hotel that evening....we were so stunned at what just happened.

I didn't write about this while in Israel just in case it caused too much attention.  We made it home with the scroll and had only one slight hiccup.  In Toronto Canada, I was randomly selected for an "agricultural screening" when we entered customs.  I thought the scroll (which we carried in bubble wrap and concealed bags) was going to get scrutinized but good news is they were simply looking for fruits, vegetables or meats brought out of Israel into other countries.