KILAUEA — The public is invited to be a part of the Kaua‘i torah, Rabbi Michoel Goldman announced Sunday during the Jewish Festival.

The event was held on the grounds of the former Kula Intermediate and High, which is being considered as a potential Jewish center for the island.

“When Moses was asked by God to build the temple in the desert, he could afford to build it himself,” Goldman said. “But instead, he wanted the people to be part of building the tabernacle.”

Similarly, Kaua‘i has an opportunity to receive its own restored torah, a scroll considered to be one of the most sacred of documents, he said.

The torah, loosely defined as “The Law,” is a scroll of parchment containing the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, all hand scribed. It is used in a synagogue during services.

“Whether people want to invest a dollar, or $100,000, there is something for them,” Goldman said. “Right now, Kaua‘i has no torah and when needed for services, we borrow from O‘ahu, New York, and elsewhere.”

Goldman said because of the frequency of loans of torah, the security personnel at Lihu‘e Airport is familiar with the scrolls, and go! airlines has even come up with a special pass so it can fly inter-island.

Kaua‘i is on schedule to receive a torah by September after Goldman put out inquiries on the Internet and got a response from Israel from a scribe who spoke of a discovered scroll that needs some restoration.

Goldman said there are several reasons for acquiring the torah at this point in time. At the top of that list is the availability of the former Kula Intermediate and High facilities after the school closed.

Goldman has hopes of turning the facility into a Jewish center where people can come and learn.

The day-long Jewish Festival last weekend offered people an opportunity to learn as well as acquire unique items like the tanya printed on Kaua‘i, or the Hawaiian yarmulka which Goldman described as blending Hawai‘i with Jewish faith.

He said the center had the services of four interns this summer, including Bentzy Schemtov of Uraguay, a scribal arts student who had to learn the 4,000 laws of scribing before even learning to scribe.

Additionally, Goldman said this is the year 5770 in the Jewish calendar and the word that spells this Hebrew year is defined as “to break forth.”

Goldman said with the availability of the facilities and the theme of breaking forth, he feels the acquisition of the torah will result in exponential growth leading to having a rabbi on the island and the start of torah classes.

Schemtov explained some of the degradations that can occur with a scroll that is handwritten on parchments, taking the time to scribe Hebrew names for guests as well as key words, or phrases for them to take as momentos of the occasion.

“We want to invite people to participate in getting this most sacred document,” Goldman said. “People will become shareholders in the torah and it will be part of the community for people to come and see and visit it.”

Visit www.jewishkauai.org for more information.