Despite the overwhelming crowd at the hachnasas sefer Torah, the absence of eight exceptional boys who were murdered in cold blood was felt immeasurably.

Attended by over 500 people, this hachnasas sefer Torah’s message was not only of the continuity of Torah and the Jewish people and their everlasting resilience, but of the love of Jews worldwide for their brethren. A glance at the decorative mantle might have given a casual onlooker insight into the uniqueness of the occasion; it was embroidered with the names of eight young Torah students who were murdered barely three months before.

While every attack in Eretz Yisrael causes Jews worldwide pain, few were as mind-numbing as the recent attack in the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva. On March 6, a lone gunman took the lives of eight budding talmidei chachamim, shining lights killed while immersed in Torah study. The enormity of the tragedy was stunning; the loss of such pure young souls was heart-wrenching.

Yitzchok Fuchs of Flatbush and Yosef Wartelsky of Far Rockaway could not get the tragedy out of their minds. They felt a keen desire to bring some small measure of nechamah to the families. At the same time, they felt that youngsters in America, most of whom had heard of the tragedy, should be given a tangible way to feel connected to the plight of their fellow Jews in Eretz Yisrael. Fuchs and Wartelsky, together with the staunch support of Rabbi Yaakov Bender, hatched a plan: to collect money for a sefer Torah for Mercaz HaRav from yeshiva students in America.

More than 10,000 students from over 30 schools in the U.S. and Canada participated in the project. Children were asked not to raise money, but to donate money from their own funds. And donate they did. In denominations of singles, fives, tens, and twenties, the money came in. Many envelopes contained odd amounts that were clearly a child’s entire savings. It was evident that the tragedy of the kedoshim had touched the children’s hearts. Over $30,000 was ultimately raised, and a dedication was planned for Thursday night, June 12.

The hachnasas sefer Torah began with dancing at Beit Sefer Maimon in Kiryat Moshe and continued to the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva. Besides the students of Mercaz HaRav, the over 500 people in attendance included family members of the slain boys, students from Yeshivas Mir, students from Shuvu, and members of the Knesset. It was remarkable how palpable the simcha was despite the tragedy that was its prelude. The mother of one of the victims told Yosef that this was the biggest nechamah she could possibly have received.

Returning to the United States after attending the hachnasas sefer Torah, Yosef and Yitzchok felt that their mission had been well accomplished. Every time that sefer Torah is used, the students of Mercaz HaRav will know that they are very much in the hearts and minds of their brothers and sisters abroad, as the inscription on the mantle ends with “nedovat tinokot shel beit rabban b’Artzot haBris” (a gift from the schoolchildren in the United States). Hopefully, this feeling of achdus and “areivim zeh lazeh” will go a long way toward bringing the geulah sheleimah bimheirah b’yameinu.

(Ilana Keilson – 5 Towns Jewish Times)