LOS ANGELES, May 8 (UPI) -- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found that a lightweight Torah brought to the beds of Jewish patients was a comfort and strength.
"I haven't seen one of these in such a long time," said a patient who had been a patient feeling discouraged and depressed. "I've felt so separated -- from my family, from my people. Now, all of a sudden, I feel connected again."
Chaplaincy Volunteer Sandy Gordon gave the hospital a lightweight Torah that could easily be carried and placed in patient rooms and even on their beds.
The Torah, the central and most important document of Judaism, is written in Hebrew and is housed in a sacred place in a synagogue called an Ark. When the Torah is carried during services, members of the congregation often reach out and kiss it.
"I continue to be astounded by the ways in which the new Torah is received by patients and families, and I believe that every Jewish hospital could benefit from having a Torah that can be touched and held by patients," said Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Levi Meier, noting that Cedars-Sinai is one of 33 Jewish hospitals in the United States.
