(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

A Sefer Torah dedicated to the memory of the three teens murdered in Gush Etzion HY”D was donated to the Beit Midrash of the World Mechina (Mechina HaOlamit) in Kibbutz Migdal Oz, on Thursday, 12 Kislev 5778.

Among the many participants at the ceremony were the Shar, Yifrach and Frenkel families, Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita, Gael Greenwald, chairman of the World Bnei Akiva movement and head of the Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization, head of the Gush Etzion Council Shlomo Ne’eman, heads of the World Bnei Akiva movement, residents of Kibbutz Migdal Oz and girls from the Kibbutz’s Midrasha for girls.

The ceremony of inauguration of the Sefer began on the hills of Ohz and Gaon, the outpost established after the bodies of the teens were found, and where the last letters of the Sefer Torah were written by Rabbi David Lau. The participants then marched to Kibbutz Migdal Ohz where the Beit Midrash will be home to the Sefer Torah. The marchers were singing and dancing, greatly excited with the emotional situation.

Around a year ago the relatives of the three teens received a request from Sammy Samuel Saban, who wanted to donate a Torah scroll dedicated to the memory of their sons. The families, which have been working ever since the murders to unite the nation and to turn their tragic story into a source of empowerment, found a place that would express this value of unity. When the Mechina HaOlamit was established, to prepare high school graduates for their military service and where native Israelis and foreign citizens study together, boys and girls from across the religious-political-international spectrum, the families felt that the values of the Mechina were the values they share. In addition, the Mechina is located in Kibbutz Migdal Ohz, near where the murder took place and the bodies of the teens found, making the donation of the Torah scroll even more significant.

The ceremony was led by Roi Abecassis, Director of the World Bnei Akiva movement. Abecassis was visibly moved. “The connection of Israel to the

Diaspora is critical. The World Bnei Akiva movement works tirelessly to nurture and care for this connection. The Mechina was established out of a utopian vision of the unity of the people who live in Zion and the people who live abroad, all for joining together in a Beit Midrash that teaches Torah in Israel. The families’ decision to dedicate the Sefer Torah to the memory of the teens takes me back to the days after the kidnapping, where Am Israel all over the world united in prayer and in concern for their safety. These moments are an inspiration for the pupils at the World Mechina, that has made its banner issue caring for the unity of the people of Israel and indeed they do so in practice in the World Mechina.

Rabbi David Lau in his speech referred to the tefilos intoned by the entire nation when the fate of the boys was unknown and reminisced how the nation was united and rose above all disputes. “This Sefer Torah is dedicated to the memory of the three sons, we all introduce this Torah today in a place which is all about unity. We give new meaning to the word brothers, because this is indeed what we are and it doesn’t matter where we came from.” Rav Lau added: “The beauty of this Torah scroll is that its content is the same no matter where you are, Sephardi or Ashkenazi, from Israel or abroad. Externally one Torah scroll can be different than another but inside, the content is the same. This is what unites us, this same thing.”

Ofir Shar, father of Gilad Shar, one of the teens, referred to the weekly Torah portion and noted that during the portion Yaakov receives the second name “Israel.” The duality of names represents the combination that is so important in the people that came out of Jacob’s seed, the combination between the ability to study Torah and the ability to fight. Such a combination is found especially in the World Mechina, the world of Torah and preparation for the military are here entwined. I hope this place where unity was forged during crisis will help create unity also during better days, and to create unity between the different groups in the nation, those who are in Israel and those who are abroad. We, the families of the teens, would like to thank everyone who takes part in the World Mechina, from World Bnei Akiva movement, Kibbutz Migdal Ohz and the council for the unique opportunity given here.”

Shlomo Neeman emphasized the struggle of the nation of Israel along the generations for its right to exist. “The nation of Israel is the nation of eternity. Many of the Maccabees’ battles were fought in this very area. This is the land on which Elazar the Maccabee was killed and in our time, this is where the three teens were killed. I grew up in a place where there were no Sifrei Torah. This unique ceremony in which a Sefer Torah finds its new home is another opportunity to revive the soul of the eternal nation.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)