[LARGE PHOTO ALBUM LINKED BELOW] The following is the WCBSTV article regarding the stolen Sifrei Torah story, which was first reported by YWN just minutes after the theft was discovered:

There is a $10,000 reward in place for those that can offer information as to the whereabouts of five missing Torah Scrolls.

The sacred Torahs were stolen from the Karlsburg Synagogue in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn. The Torahs, worth tens of thousands of dollars, were taken in the middle of the night during a break-in.

The synagogue’s Chief Rabbi was in Israel. The discovery was made by his grandson who went for morning prayers. He found the safe doors that contained the ark, which houses the Torah, unlocked.

“Well, somebody walked in, in the morning and found everything open,” said one of the synagogue’s rabbis, Bernard Freilich.

The Torah is considered a synagogue’s holiest possession. The five Torah Scrolls and the silver, ornamental crowns that dress it were all taken.

Investigators determined that the burglary took place through a rear window which had not been locked.

“It feels very horrible for someone to play around with our holiest scrolls. And it’s more than just the monetary value,” said Yakov Fisher, a member of the congregation.

The monetary value is significant. The scrolls are said to be worth $50,000 a piece.

Local Councilman David Greenfield found the crime to particularly disturbing.

“Obviously, it takes a pretty sick and depraved criminal to walk into a holy place, a synagogue, and steal the holiest of Jewish possessions, which is the sacred Torah, ” Greenfield said.

YWN PHOTO ALBUM LINK: Click HERE for more than 100 photos by Hillel Engel for YWN, and click HERE for photos by Shimon Gifter for YWN.

(Source: WCBSTV)