New Torah scroll at Stony Brook University

A new Torah scroll is to arrive at Stony Brook University Friday afternoon.

The Torah, which contains the first five books of the Jewish scriptures, was donated by Ira Lipman and his family in memory of his mother Belle Lipman. A Torah scroll is handwritten by a trained scribe and may take up to a year to complete.

The donation will be celebrated at a 1 p.m. ceremony at the university’s Hillel Foundation for Jewish Life, starting with a procession from the union building. The Torah will be escorted under a wedding canopy to the chapel.

A scribe will then complete the writing of the final letters and welcome the Torah to Stony Brook.

Lipman, of New York City, is not affiliated with Stony Brook but has donated Torahs to many college Hillel centers around the country, according to Rabbi Joseph Topek, director of the Stony Brook Hillel foundation.