By COLlive reporter
As Hurricane Ida hit the New York tri-state area on Wednesday night, videos and photos began circulating on social media of the mayhem and destruction caused by the unprecedented massive flooding in the area.
One particularly riveting video showed an intense scene of Hatzalah volunteers standing in the drenching rain and in waist-high water, desperately rescuing Torah Scrolls from a basement synagogue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
While the sorrowful video of holy Torahs soaked and damaged caused pain to all who viewed it, it had extra significance for 3 individuals from Crown Heights.
Zalmy Cohen, a businessman from Crown Heights, watched the video on his cell phone, shared by a friend who is a Hatzalah member.
Suddenly, as he watched the video again, something struck him like a lightning bolt.
“All of a sudden, when the person turned around, I could see the Torah’s Mantel-coat, and I realized – this is the Unity Sefer Torah,” Cohen told COLlive.com.
The Unity Sefer Torah is the second Torah spearheaded by Cohen and two friends, Shloimy Greenwald and Beryl Junik. During the pandemic, the group had led the writing of two Torahs in the merit of the Jewish people worldwide, the first traveling to various Shuls in the New York area, and the second, written in the merit of Hatzalah members, was gifted to Hatzalah. The historic Torahs each united hundreds of thousands of Jewish people from across the globe who participated in the writing, and were completed in grand Siyum events which were streamed live around the world.
Devastated, Cohen immediately called his friend who had shared the video, and asked him to check if this was indeed the Unity Torah which had been gifted to Hatzalah, and was housed in a Shul in Williamsburg where many Hatzalah volunteers daven regularly.
While his friend insisted it probably wasn’t, he nevertheless called the person in the video.
And so it was confirmed, the Unity Sefer Torah, completed last Lag BaOmer in the merit of the Hatzalah organization, was one of four Torahs damaged in the storm.
“Hearing this, my heart dropped,” Cohen said. “This Torah was a project built on Achdus, on unity, how could this happen? It’s enough to make a person broken and sad,” he said.
“But the Rebbe always taught us not to get stuck in the darkness, but rather to rise to the challenge and bring more light,” he said.
The next morning, the Torah was brought to Crown Heights Sofer Rabbi Moshe Klein, who examined it to see if there is any way to salvage or restore it.
Sadly, the Torah “may be damaged beyond repair,” Rabbi Klein told COLlive.com. While it is still being dried to ascertain whether or not it can be at least partially repaired, Rabbi Klein does not have much hope. “We will know more tomorrow,” he told COLlive. “As of now, it looks terrible.”
While the news is disheartening, the three creators of the first and second Unity Torahs are not deterred in their mission to bring unity, light, and goodness into this world.
“We will write another Torah,” Rabbi Shloimy Greenwald told COLlive.com. “Tonight is my birthday, and one of my hachlatos that I am pledging is that we will begin writing another Unity Torah, and will hold a Siyum during the next year,” he says resolutely.
“This happening before Rosh Hashana shows me that Hashem wants us to unite Klal Yisroel even more,” he said. “As the Rebbe once wrote to someone in Jerusalem whose Shul’s Torah had been destroyed, the Rebbe instructed him to begin writing a new Torah immediately, on the day of the Levaya of the first one.
“As we stand in the days before Rosh Hashana, one of the holiest days of the year, it’s the best opportunity to unite even more and to bring more goodness and kindness into the world. We will not be fazed by any challenges and obstacles in our way – we will unite as a family and bring as much achdus to Klal Yisroel as we can,” Greenwald said.
How very tragic to look at the damaged Unity Sefer Torah.
May Hashem send Moshiach NOW!
It’s a searing pain that runs deep to see a beautiful Torah damaged like that.
Please please look into using the Dio Lanetzach ink to write the next Torah. It has been trialled and tested to withstand both flooding and fire damage, oh I wish this one would have been written with it
Vaxxed, Non-vaxxed, chassidish, off the derech or on their own derech – united without judgement. That’s what the Eibishter wants of His children. K’siva Vachasima Tova. Moshiach Now!
amein!
Hurts to see this, let us be inspired to unite even more
Where can donations be made towards the new Torah?
https://unitedforprotection.com/