Idaho
Cherry Hill rabbi donates Torah to new synagogue in Idaho
CHERRY HILL N.J. (CBS) – It’s the holiest object in any synagogue, and it’s read during multiple Jewish religious services: the Torah.
“It contains our traditions. It contains our history. It contains everything that we’re about as a Jewish people,” Rabbi Micah Peltz, of Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, said. “When you place that Torah on the table and you open it up, it’s something that really, always is a beautiful feeling.”
It’s a feeling shared by the congregants he invites up to read from the Torah, particularly 13-year-old Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.
Since Temple Beth Sholom’s Torah arrived at the temple 74 years ago, hundreds of 13-year-olds have read from it, including Joe Fastow.
“As an almost 80-year-old now, I wonder where the time went,” Fastow said.
He’s also in wonder over how Temple Beth Sholom’s Torah ended up in Cherry Hill.
His own father brought it to America from Ukraine in 1910, and when he helped establish Temple Beth Sholom, he donated the Torah in 1949.
“I think second to being an American, founding Temple Beth Sholom was my father’s proudest moment,” Fastow said.
Now, the son is following his father’s path.
Fastow is establishing a synagogue in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Rabbi Peltz is giving the Torah back to Fastow, whose new synagogue will use it.
“They can have as much joy and celebration and love with it as we’ve had over the years,” Rabbi Peltz said.
Fastow said, “I think [my father] would be very proud of the fact that there were Jewish children learning from his torah this many years.”
FRUITLAND, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The growing season is commencing; however, there is another unique way to farm, hydroponics and they have the benefit of being able to grow food all year long.
“I always had a dream of doing it, and it’s going great,” said Amos Wengerd, owner of GreenWave Hydroponics.
Hydroponics is a unique way of farming that utilizes mostly water to provide nutrients to the plants. Some plants are put into a soil pot, but others are not, like lettuce.
Wengerd moved from Pennsylvania to Fruitland with his wife and started this business not that long ago.
“We started four years ago in 2021, spring of 2021 we got going. I built the greenhouse myself. We got going, we started selling by June.”
GreenWave Hydroponics grows all sorts of greens like lettuce, basil, and rosemary.
It’s a strange way of farming, that takes a while to get started. However, it does come with some great benefits.
“The benefits of hydroponic farming are endless. Some of the biggest ones are no disease pressure, no pest problems, very little. We actually completely quit spraying 100%. We don’t do any, not even organic pesticides. If we have any problem with any pests, we just bring in some ladybugs”
Wengerd also said that it is more water-efficient than standard farming practices and if you would like to do a small-scale version, there are ways to do it.
“So, to get started at home, you can buy a lot of kits online. You can make your own kits; you can get into it fairly inexpensively. The most important things are your light and your nutrients. If you make sure your plants, get enough lights per day, they like 12-16 hours of light per day. And make sure your nutrients are where they supposed to be.”
He recommends sending your water to a lab to get tested, as each water source is unique. Some of the nutrients needed to grow food with hydroponics are potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
And Wengerd says that he does see hydroponics becoming more popular.
“I think this is one of the most important things as land becomes increasingly more expensive and harder to get, this is more important as you can get a huge amount of food in a small area.”
Copyright 2025 KMVT. All rights reserved.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CALDWELL, Idaho — The decision to build a new temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Caldwell stunned some community members. According to Local Stake President, Robert Neilson, “It just caught everyone by surprise.”
As the Treasure Valley continues to grow, Neilson noted an increase in new members joining the LDS Church. “So there was certainly a level of excitement when he announced it,” said Neilson.
During the 195th Annual General Conference, it was announced that Caldwell will be one of 15 new locations receiving a temple, following a decision made by President Russell M. Nelson.
The last LDS temple built in the Treasure Valley was the Meridian Temple in 2017. Caldwell’s temple will be the 11th in the state of Idaho, although the specific location for the new temple has yet to be determined.
Air Wisconsin Airlines planning another round of layoffs affecting over 100 people
Three Predictions: Auburn, West Virginia, Miami
Trucker Killed in Rollover Crash in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains
Own crypto, Bitcoin, or NFTs? You may have to report it on your tax return. What to know
Understanding the Basics of 21st-Century Finance Capitalism
-
News1 week agoSupreme Court Rules Against Makers of Flavored Vapes Popular With Teens
-
News1 week agoNYC Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case is dismissed
-
Technology1 week agoHere’s how you can preorder the Nintendo Switch 2 (or try to)
-
News1 week agoTrump to Pick Ohio Solicitor General, T. Elliot Gaiser, for Justice Dept. Legal Post
-
Politics1 week agoFBI flooded with record number of new agent applications in Kash Patel's first month leading bureau
-
World1 week ago‘A historic moment’: Donald Trump unveils sweeping ‘reciprocal’ tariffs
-
Sports1 week agoDeion Sanders defied doubters and returns to Colorado with a $10M per year deal. What’s next?
-
World1 week agoCommission denies singling out NGOs in green funding row