Two summers ago, Chaya Levertov came up with an idea: to celebrate an upcoming milestone in her family and community’s lives with a new Torah for Chabad of Scottsdale, Ariz.
That high point has been reached; 2017 marks 25 years since her parents, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Yossi and Dina Levertov, started the Chabad House in this desert city east of Phoenix, the state capital. It’s also her father’s 50th birthday. So she got her siblings (she’s the eldest of seven) on board, and started working away at the project to honor her parents and bring residents together.
Chaya, 22, quietly phoned members of the local Jewish community to get them involved. “The response was incredible,” she said. “The people I called were really, really enthusiastic.”
They found a scribe and revealed the surprise last March via a video presentation at Chabad’s Purim party.
This past Sunday, Feb. 12, the community helped write the final letters of the Torah during a celebration that brought locals and visitors out in droves. “Everyone felt a part of this,” said Chaya Levertov.
Attendees recalled the process of watching Chabad and the Levertov family blossom over time. It was on Kol Nidre almost 20 years ago when international business consultant Kenneth Feldman was looking for a place to go at the last minute. Services were being held in a local high school gym. “I stumbled in and was adopted, basically,” he related. “They’ve always been very welcoming, offering a place for Friday-night dinners and a good spiritual or religious conversation whenever a question comes up.”
He’s seen the congregational home expand from a single shop in a strip mall to several storefronts that house a bookstore, gift shop and kosher restaurant, in addition to space for services and communal gatherings. Speaker programs were added on Shabbat and holidays, and Feldman noted that it has become a hub for Jewish practice, learning and socialization. “I’ve really developed a core group of friends there, who have also been attracted to what Chabad offers and their outreach programs.”
A Show of Support
Feldman said he was impressed when Chaya Levertov first called, describing secret plans for the Torah dedication. And he was glad to be part of that Purim video, and to join in this past Sunday as the Torah was completed.
Regulars and new faces took part in the event at the nearby J. Levine Auction House. “It wasn’t just the traditional Chabad crowd that you see on the Sabbath,” said Feldman, originally from Florida, “but also people who hadn’t been as affiliated, and who wanted to show their support and participate in this important mitzvah.”
After the ink dried, the crowd marched the Torah down Scottsdale Road to the Chabad center, its new home.
Rabbi Yossi Levertov said it was emotional seeing how local residents and his children worked as one, as he reflected on what they’ve built in two-plus decades. Between having the longest-running minyan in town, lectures and programs, a restaurant and market, Hebrew school, gift shop and more, they’ve been fortunate in their outreach, he said. And now they can serve even more with a brand-new Torah that so many had a hand in creating.
“We pray to G‑d that people will see the blessings of Sunday’s event in a tangible way,” he said, “and that we as a Chabad will see continued growth in the next 25 years, much greater even than in the last 25 years.”
Dina Levertov acknowledged that the community has come a long way since she and her husband arrived six months after marrying: “Watching it grow from the days when we first started—having to stand outside to find another Jew for a minyan—is pretty amazing.”
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