After the four Sifrei Torah which were stolen from Beit Knesset Orot HaTorah in Bnei Brak recently, and subsequently recovered in a PA (Palestinian Authority) village in Shomron, it has been decided that the Seforim will be returned in a procession that will begin from the Bnei Brak home of Maran HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman ZT”L.

The procession will begin on Wednesday, with the participation of hundreds, wishing to give kovod to the Sifrei Torah being returned to the shul on Rabbi Akiva Street. The event will begin at the late Gadol Hador’s home at 7:00PM.

The ceremony is expected to begin with the writing of a new Sefer Torah that will be brought to the shul, as part of the community’s chizuk, kovod Beis Medrash and the Sifrei Torah.

A week ago, police reported that they broke into the shul on Rabbi Akiva Street in Bnei Brak. During the break-in, valuable Sifrei Torah were stolen from the shul’s Aron Kodesh, seforim worth hundreds of thousands of shekels. In addition, the attackers caused significant damage to the shul and threw another Torah on the ground along with Sifrei Nevi’im.

As soon as the report was received, police officers arrived at the scene and began investigating the incident through a special investigation team. The intensive investigation led to the arrest of five suspects on Sunday night, after a manhunt for the perpetrators.

As the investigation progressed, police investigators managed to trace the location of the stolen Sifrei Torah and within a short time, police detectives, border police and IDF soldiers arrived at the village of Akraba in the Shomron region. During the search, they found the four Sifrei Torah that had been hidden in a sheep pen.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)