From Devastation to Dedication

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 that are defending the Jewish people and with hope that all the hostages return home. 

The 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. 


The Torah, which was discovered in the ruins of a synagogue in Marseille, France, after the Holocaust, was restored and the final verses will be written during a Nov. 19 ceremony on the site of the Nova Musical Festival, where 364 young adults were murdered on Oct. 7, and then the Torah will be transported to its new home at Yeshivat AMIT Ashdod, where it will be used by yeshiva students who will serve in the IDF after graduation. 


Members of the Valley’s Jewish community can participate in the dedication by purchasing words, verses and Torah portions. Each donor will also receive a certificate for their donation.

($54.00/ea.)
($180.00/ea.)
($1,800.00/ea.)
($1,000.00/ea.) [Purchased]
($14,400.00/ea.)

Be a part of the legacy

If you would like to make an additional donation for the project, please do so below. (This does not include a certificate.)

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Dedication

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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 discovered that he had the Torah unrolled on the floor like a carpet and arranged to purchase it from him and bring it back to the United States. They kept it in storage until deciding 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.


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 letters 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.


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