Last Thursday the Zhytomyr Oblast State Archive for the first time since Ukrainian independence transferred the ancient scrolls of the Torah, the Judaic sacred book, to representatives of the Jewish communities of Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Vinnytsia, and other cities of Ukraine. The scriptures were presented on behalf of the government by Oblast Council Chairman Arkhyp Voitenko. These are seventeen heavy one meter-long calf leather scrolls with manuscript texts. The exact age of the scrolls in unknown, but The Day was told by archives director Mykola Shapran that experts estimate they may be at least several hundred years old. They were accidentally found in the oblast’s cities and villages soon after World War II. Then they were transferred to the archives, which has carefully kept them. Under the contract signed, the texts were handed over to the Jewish communities for long-term use. Mr. David Oren, second secretary at the Embassy of Israel in Ukraine, said that independent Ukraine’s Jewish citizens had received an opportunity to develop alongside people of other ethnic origin their own national identity, education, and culture. The Jewish community observed the day the scrolls were transferred as a major holiday.
