45 shuls mourn Torahs lost to Sandy

The rabbis and members of 45 synagogues from the Five Towns and Rockaways will gather this Sunday outside the White Shul to show respect and unity at a mass funeral for 12 Torah scrolls from local shuls damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

The 10:30 AM event, organized by members of the community and mostly underwritten by an anonymous donor, will be held on Sage Street and Empire Avenue in Far Rockaway in front of the White Shul, Congregation Kneseth Israel.

Two Torahs were lost at Ohab Zedek in Belle Harbor, three at Seaside Jewish Center in Belle Harbor, one at Maimonides in Bayswater, two at Kosnitz Shul in Seagate, three at Young Israel of Oceanside, and one in Far Rockaway.

The levaya (funeral) was scheduled for this Sunday so as not to conflict with the Celebrate Israel Parade next Sunday, summer vacation and camp schedules.

“It’s an important event for parents and kids to witness the burial of 12 Torahs,” a spokesperson for the levaya said. “It’s an emotionally charged event. We want the biggest audience possible to give the proper kavod (respect) to the Sifrei Torah. Hopefully it will never happen again.”

He noted that the Torahs were “beyond repair.” They were inspected by many soferim (scribes) who “unanimously” concluded that the Torahs could not be fixed. “It’s heart wrenching when you look at them. It’s impressive to see what water can cause.”

The spokesperson requested anonymity, saying the event was organized by the community at large, by Five Towns residents who heard of the severely damaged Sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls) from local communities and reached out to all the synagogues in the Five Towns and Rockaways. “We didn’t want to leave anybody out; we wanted to make a community event,” he said.

There will be women’s and men’s sections where participants can stand for the outdoor funeral. The program will last about an hour with opening remarks, two speakers to be announced, the reading of three chapters of Tehilim (psalms), and closing remarks. There will be a ten-minute procession following the truck holding the scrolls as it drives down Sage Street to Empire Avenue and on to the Nassau Expressway.

Those attending can then enter their cars and follow to the burial site, dedicated for Sifrei Torah, in Liberty, New York. “The Torahs will be placed in earthenware vessels for longevity, to preserve the Torahs as long as possible,” he explained. “Earthenware is the most durable material. This is for Halachic (Jewish legal) purposes.”

“It’s important to feel that this is a community event,” said the spokesperson, “It’s a concerted effort of the community to provide proper kavod to the resting place of the Sifrei Torah.

“The Talmud says that when there is a loss of Sifrei Torah it is like a neshama (soul) goes away; it has to be treated as if a neshama goes away.

“The Torah has a physical value but it is the spiritual value when people use it that is lost, so it is treated as if it is a real spiritual loss.”

He emphasized all the good deeds of the local communities but when a tragedy of such destruction happens in a community the community has to “look at their deeds collectively to improve as a community, implying that we are doing a lot of things wrong and need introspection, as an opportunity to improve as a tzibur (group) to better our lives and provide a Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name.)”