"Sifrei Torah swimming in dirty water and give off a bad smell"
Chilling scene: dozens of Sifrei Torah, tefillin, Sifrei Kodesh and ritual objects – corrupted by water in four synagogues in Belle Harbor, New York • "I've never seen such a sight"
- Yoel Bitelman, B'Chadrei Charedim
- כ"א חשון התשע"ג
"I've never seen such a sight in my life," says Rabbi Shlomo Klein, chairman of the 'Shomrim', as he describes what is happening in the Belle Harbor neighborhood synagogues near Parkway in New York – a neighborhood flooded by storm 'Sandy' and its homes erased and destroyed.
"Sefer Torah, Torah crowns, prayer shawls, tefillin, sidurim and chumashim are swimming in dirty water coming up to the waist, and smell bad and dirty. The Aron Hakodesh was also filled with water and smells terrible, Sifrei Torah have been lying in water for six days. Holy vessels, Torah crowns, and other things in the Aron Hakodesh turned black. The spectacle repeated itself in every four synagogues in the neighborhood, "says Klein.
After recovering from the terrible sight, Klein decided to recruit the charity organizations, Chessed Shel Emett, Matzilei Aish from Kiryat Yoel, Hatzalah, Shomrim and Chaveirim from all ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn to prevent the terrible disgrace.
Dozens of yeshiva students, volunteers, various organizations, received orders from Matzilei Aish and a voluntary organization which specializes in saving wet objects, as well as Mr. Mendel Rosenberg, CEO of Chessed Shel Emett, which handles Mitzvah burials and anything connected to burying archives.".
At the end of the rescue operation it was revealed that at least four Sifrei Torah out of 22 went out of use, others were in serious condition and sent for testing, 30 pairs of tefillin and ritual objects were damaged completely, this does not include Sifrei Kodesh – Chumashim, Machzorim, Siddurim and Sifrei Limud, which were defaced and will be passed on for genizah.
"Sefer Torah, Torah crowns, prayer shawls, tefillin, sidurim and chumashim are swimming in dirty water coming up to the waist, and smell bad and dirty. The Aron Hakodesh was also filled with water and smells terrible, Sifrei Torah have been lying in water for six days. Holy vessels, Torah crowns, and other things in the Aron Hakodesh turned black. The spectacle repeated itself in every four synagogues in the neighborhood, "says Klein.
After recovering from the terrible sight, Klein decided to recruit the charity organizations, Chessed Shel Emett, Matzilei Aish from Kiryat Yoel, Hatzalah, Shomrim and Chaveirim from all ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn to prevent the terrible disgrace.
Dozens of yeshiva students, volunteers, various organizations, received orders from Matzilei Aish and a voluntary organization which specializes in saving wet objects, as well as Mr. Mendel Rosenberg, CEO of Chessed Shel Emett, which handles Mitzvah burials and anything connected to burying archives.".
At the end of the rescue operation it was revealed that at least four Sifrei Torah out of 22 went out of use, others were in serious condition and sent for testing, 30 pairs of tefillin and ritual objects were damaged completely, this does not include Sifrei Kodesh – Chumashim, Machzorim, Siddurim and Sifrei Limud, which were defaced and will be passed on for genizah.
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