Oct 31st 2008, 00:00

I was in 5th grade when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. As many of you, I can vividly remember that day and exactly where I was when I heard the news. The teachers were huddled in a corner of the classroom crying. The talk during lunchtime was about what effect JFK’s death would have on our country’s government, including the transfer of power from Kennedy to Lyndon Johnson. I watched the funeral and remember the moment that John-John saluted – a photo that has gone down in history.
While JFK’s assassination has become one of the outstanding events in November on the American calendar, Jewish history also stops this month to remember with the commemoration of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. The date was November 9, 1938. More than two hundred synagogues were destroyed, and thousands of Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked and damaged. Among the synagogues affected by Kristallnacht was the synagogue in Hanover, Germany. The little Torah with the red cover that takes its place in our ark along with the other large Torahs is a remnant of that synagogue and Kristallnacht. My uncle, Leopold Gruenbaum, was the caretaker of that synagogue. He and my aunt, Aenne, lived above the synagogue in a small apartment. After the events of November 8, 1938, my uncle went down to see what he could salvage from the devastation. He brought up the small Torah, written by hand as are all kosher scrolls, made a new cover for it, attached one of my aunt’s broaches from her costume jewelry collection, and guarded that Torah for 40 years.
The Gruenbaums were fortunate to be able to escape Germany, and they settled in Los Angeles. My mother and I took pleasure in visiting with them, and it was on one of these visits after my uncle died that we discovered that this Torah existed. My aunt simply said one day, “You know, I have something that you might be interested in.” She went to her linen closet and returned cradling the little Torah. “This belongs in a synagogue, not in my home.” We removed the cover and laid eyes on a remarkable wimple (the belt used to tie the two scrolls together) and the text of our Torah. The wimple was hand painted in honor of the brit milah (circumcision) of someone who would now be 149 years old! It is an amazing piece of artwork that is signed by the artist and dedicated on that very special occasion. If only that Torah could talk …
November is one of my favorite months of the year. Not because of the anniversary of JFK’s death and not even because of Thanksgiving (although I love the opportunity for family and friends to get together … and eat!). November is the month when I look at the Little Red Torah that lives at Temple Beth Tikvah, my Jewish Home. That Torah reunites me with my ancestors, those who perished at the hands of the Nazis, as well as with Aenne and Leopold, who bravely saved a piece of our Jewish heritage and brought it to the United States, where it is safe to live as a Jew.