Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- Before 1920 (Creation)
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
Parchment piece, torn across the bottom and sides, with writing in Hebrew and Chinese in ink
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Sophie Newton was born in 1867 and became a Deaconess in 1892. She worked in Foochow (Fuzhou) and surrounding regions in China as a missionary with the Church Missionary Society, experiencing the Boxer and Nationalist Rebellions. She trained Bible women and opposed the practices of foot binding and female infanticide. She also coordinated fundraising for various projects including the Hospital for the Jews in Jerusalem, translation and distribution of Hebrew scriptures and the sponsorship of a pupil in a school in Jerusalem. She is buried at St Thomas' Church, Enfield.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This portion of a Torah scroll was taken from a synagogue in Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv) during the riots of 1921. It came into the possession of a Mr and Mrs Shelley, who sent it to their friend Deaconess Sophie Newton. Deaconess Newton used the parchment as an aid to study and prayer during prayer meetings for the Jews, which she had held ever since 1900. Dss Newton gave the parchment to Moore College in 1944 with the exhortation to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6).
The Hebrew text is from the book of Leviticus, including part of chapter 8.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
May be viewed under supervision. Care required when handling.