1957 I was rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue « Mikve Israel » in Philadelphia, U.S.A. There was a lady in the Congregation, Mrs. Emily Frank, who used to sew beautiful covers for the Sifre Torah, and similar synagogue items. Since I was planning a trip to Manchester, England, where I used to live, I asked her if she would make for me two sefer covers, one for the synagogue in Philadelphia, and one for the Sephardi synagogue in Manchester.
She readily agreed, and with her help I purchased material to make both items. I also had a small silver plate made to go with the cover I planned to present to the synagogue in Manchester. When she finished making the two covers, she said to me: « I had a piece of material left over, so since you are planning to attend a barmitzvah, I made a bag for the boy to hold his talet. » I thanked her, and eventually gave the cover to the synagogue, and the bag to the boy and one cover remained in Philadelphia
Forty-three years later I again visited Manchester. I stayed with friends who happened to invite the barmitzvah boy to dinner. Of course, he is now a grown man, and this Robert Rodrigues-Pereira, of a distinguished Amsterdam Saphardi family, is an active leader of the Manchester Jewish community. He told me the following story. He was invited to a barmitzvah in Philadelphia, and took with him the talet bag I had given him, which for over forty years he has used whenever he travels. When they took out the sefer torah at the service in Philadelphia, the man sitting next to him said: « That is strange. The cover of the sefer torah exactly matches your talet bag! « Robert replied: « It is not really so strange, because it is made from the very same piece of cloth! » By coincidence they happened to use on that Sabbath the very cover which I had asked Mrs. Frank to make all those year ago, and once again the two ritual articles were united and visible under the same roof. Jewish tradition has respect even for inanimate objects, because thereby we learn for creatures, both human and animal, who are able to feel. For this reason we cover the bread when we bless the kiddush wine, so it should not be disturbed that we are using first rather than bread for the ceremony. I could not help feeling that these two beautiful objects, created lovingly by a talented lady, had a kind of artistic joy at their reunion after so many years. Just a coincidence, yes, but one that inspires us to spread beauty in the world.
Alan D. Corré.