Congregation Beth Shalom will host a special service on Friday at 8 p.m. for the arrival of its new Torah, donated by congregants Marianne and David Simon in honor of Marianne's parents, Leonard and Nancy Marcus.

A Torah, or the first part of the Hebrew Bible made up of the Five Books of Moses, is a scroll of parchment written entirely by hand in the Hebrew language by a trained craftsman. The Torah is read from beginning to end throughout the year in weekly portions.

While the Torah will be new for the Canyon Country congregation, research shows that it is actually more than 150 years old and has its origins in Eastern Europe.

Congregation Beth Shalom is located at 21430 Centre Pointe Parkway.