Jews in the southern Russian city of Saratov had a lot to celebrate last week. As they reveled in the last night of Chanukah, hundreds of people gathered in the hall of the city’s central synagogue to welcome a new Torah scroll.

Joined by guests from other regions of Russia and Israel, the celebrants watched Moscow-based ritual scribe Rabbi Eliyahu Bar fill in the last few letters of the scroll with the assistance of several community leaders. The Harel Lipsker Orchestra and singer Yoni Berger filled the hall with traditional Chasidic melodies, and the crowd danced with the synagogue’s new Torah.

According to Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Yaakov Kubitshek, the city’s chief rabbi, the scroll was donated by a “modest man” who wished to remain anonymous.

The Jewish community of Saratov is a member of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.