Or ’Ammim in Bologna, Italy is the only Jewish progressive community in the region. Founded in 2018, Or ‘Ammim was created out of the desire to build an inclusive and welcoming community based on the principal of reform Judaism, thereby offering Jews an alternative choice. We only rely on membership dues and donations as Jewish progressive communities in Italy are not recognized by the State and therefore do not receive any financial aid.
It is presently a member of the FIEP, the Italian Federation for Progressive Judaism, which is a member of EUPJ (European Union for Progressive Judaism).
Our present Torah was donated to us during summer 2022 by the Ohev Beth Sholom community in Youngstown, Ohio (USA).
As a small community with no rabbi, we are nevertheless able to have services on Shabbat and main festivals, thanks to our two lay leaders. Our Torah, which is the only one we have, is read during all services. It’s a real joy for our community to read from it and learn.
As time goes by and as we extensively use it, we are preoccupied by maintaining it in good state. Our present rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Zagman (from Israel), who is an expert sofer, checked it when he came the past June. He is willing to fix our Torah by taking it back to Israel on his next trip to Bologna.
Therefore, we call on your generosity to finance our Torah repair (includes trips to Bologna, material and time of repair).
Our Torah is our treasure and the only possession we have: keeping it “safe” is a mitzvah you can contribute to achieve together with our small but vibrant community!
Our Torah’s journey:
Our Torah was one of a collection of Torah scrolls that was at congregation Ohev Beth Sholom that had an overabundance of Torah scrolls due to the merger of several congregations. As the Torah was donated to us, we received a beautiful letter from Rabbi Paula Winnig, the associate director of consulting and transition management for the Union for Reform Judaism and from Rabbi Courtney Berman from the congregation Ohev Beth Shalom. The Torah left Ohio for New York and was then taken by Rabbi Sergio Bergman, the present WUPJ president, who took it to Tel Aviv where he met our president Carmen Dal Monte who brought it to Italy.
