Oh my, I sure hope this elderly woman’s intentions are paving the road to somewhere else. From the National Post:
‘Good deed’ by rogue restoration pensioner ruins 19th-century Spanish fresco
Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) was a prized Spanish fresco — the pride of the Sanctuary of Mercy Church in Borja, near Zaragoza, where it has delighted parishioners for more than 100 years.
But after a botched restoration attempt by a well-meaning DIY pensioner, Elias Garcia Martinez’s 19th-century masterpiece looks more like a child’s finger-painting.
The unauthorized alterations were made by a Spanish woman in her 80s who had apparently grown upset over the worsening state of the painting. (Centro de estudios Borjanos)
~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Writing a Torah, in general, energizes a community. It unifies people. It is not based on who you are. Everyone is equal.
— Rabbi Moshe Druin, a sofer stam on the restoration of a 17th-century Torah scroll with an incredible history.
The Los Angeles Times has this hopeful story about Temple Ahavat Shalom’s restoration of a 300-year-old manuscript. The sacred scroll was first created for a small Jewish community in what was then Czechoslovakia, then survived the Holocaust while warehoused in Prague, then moved to London by way of a wealthy benefactor, and finally found a permanent home again at the congregation in Northridge, California. Each member of the synagogue will be able to write a letter into the Torah during the process.
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
