Inauguration of a Torah scroll

Inside the sanctuary, there is more singing and dancing, a short prayer service, placement of the scroll in the Torah ark, and a seudat mitzvah (festive meal).

[2] Torah scrolls are typically commissioned by individuals to memorialize or honor loved ones;[3] alternatively, a group or community may sponsor the writing of a Torah scroll to memorialize one or more of its members, especially those who were killed for being Jewish.

[8] The finished Torah scroll is used during prayer services in a synagogue or other sanctuary, such as that of a yeshiva, rabbinical college, university campus, nursing home, military base, or other institution.

[9] The escorting of a Torah scroll to its new home has its source in the procession of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, led by King David.

[16] In 2008, for example, congregants of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey carried 15 Torah scrolls to their new sanctuary in Paterson in a gala procession.

[17] If the Torah scroll is a new one, the event begins with a ceremony called siyum haTorah (completion of the Torah) or kesivas haosiyos (writing of the letters), in which the final letters at the end of the scroll are inked in by honorees.

[23] The Torah scroll is carried to its new home in an outdoor procession attended by men, women, and children.

[24][32][33][34][35][36] In early modern Italy, special poems were written in honor of the occasion.

[1] Police cars often block off the parade route and accompany the celebrants as they move through the streets.