A Torah desecrated during the Holocaust has been saved and will be rededicated in memory of the victims of Oct. 7, in honor of the IDF soldiers who are defending the Jewish people and with hope that all the hostages return home.
Members of the Greater Phoenix community are invited to participate in the Nov. 19 dedication of a Holocaust Torah at its new home in an Israeli yeshiva. The East Valley JCC project is a way to memorialize those who lost their lives on Oct. 7, as well as honor the IDF soldiers who are defending the Jewish state and protecting the people who live there.
“I thought, what better place to give this sefer Torah that survived the Holocaust than a place where it’s going to be used on a regular basis,” said Rabbi Michael Beyo, CEO of the East Valley JCC. “In my mind, this creates a connection between the people who originally wrote it and those who will use it today.”
The Torah’s journey
After World War II, a Torah written in the late 1800s was found by a non-Jewish man in Marseille, France. A Jewish family visiting France met him and after discovering that he had the Torah unrolled on the floor like a carpet, they arranged to purchase it and brought it back with them to the United States. They kept it in storage until they decided to learn more about its roots in order to sell it and find an appropriate home.
After learning about the Torah, the East Valley JCC purchased it to use for an educational program that got sidelined due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a 2023 visit to Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks, Rabbi Beyo learned about the work of Machane Shura, the IDF’s Casualty Treatment Unit, and realized he found a new home for the Torah.
Rabbi Shalom Malool, the rabbi of Machane Shura, is also the rosh yeshiva (head of school) of Yeshivat AMIT Ashdod, a yeshiva in Ashdod, Israel with hundreds of students.
A dedication ceremony
After the repair and restoration of the Torah is complete, so that it can be halachically kosher to be used again, the Torah will be dedicated at the yeshiva this year on Nov. 19, in memory of the victims of Oct. 7 and in honor of the members of the IDF who defend the Jewish state and its people.
The final verses will be written in the Torah during a ceremony at the site of the Nova Musical Festival, where 364 young adults were murdered and many more were injured on Oct. 7. After a celebration that will include prayers, singing and dancing, the Torah will then be transported to the yeshiva in Ashdod to be used by the school’s students,all of whom will join the IDF after graduation.
Members of the Valley’s Jewish community can participate in the dedication by purchasing letters, verses, chapters and Torah portions of the Torah. Each donor will also receive a certificate noting their part in the Torah.
