Members of a Kansas City synagogue have come to the aid of Jewish Hurricane Sandy victims in Long Island by donating a Torah scroll to a synagogue that lost four.

Kehilath Israel Synagogue, an Orthodox synagogue in Overland Park, Kan., which has more than 15 Torah scrolls, is donating a Torah scroll to Congregation Ahavas Yisroel, a small Orthodox synagogue in Cedarhurst which had its four Torah scrolls badly damaged by the hurricane.

The Long Island synagogue was decimated after 4 feet of water washed away tables, chairs, prayer books, and four Torah scrolls, one that was over 90 years old, the congregation’s rabbi, Yissachar Blinder, told JTA.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Our Torahs were soaked with enough damage that it will be months before we are able to use them,” Blinder said. “We are really grateful for everyone in Kansas City for making this gesture to help us.”

The donation effort was spearheaded by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, Kehilath Israel’s senior rabbi, who noted that damage to synagogues could hurt the community as a whole.

“Torahs aren’t like necklaces that should just be worn occasionally and then stored away, they should be used and shared with the community,” Yanklowitz said. “We obviously weren’t affected by the hurricane here in Kansas City and we were looking for different ways to contribute to those hurt.”

Blinder’s synagogue does not own any Torah scrolls; the four scrolls damaged in the storm were on loan from synagogue members, and Blinder said a Torah scroll is just what the community needed.

“This is a silver lining for all that we’ve been through with this hurricane,” he said.

A small ceremony honoring the Torah donation and dedication will be held in Long Island on Dec. 4.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount