How Did This Torah Literally Get Burned Not Once But Twice?
Adas Israel Congregation ablaze, Sept. 9, 2019. Image by KBJR/YouTube
By Aiden Pink November 21, 2019
Torah scrolls damaged in a fire that destroyed a Minnesota synagogue were burned again when the garage in which they were being stored caught ablaze.
The remnants of the Torahs, which were irreparably burned in September after the 120-year-old Adas Israel Congregation in Duluth caught fire, were being stored in a local garage before they were to be ceremonially buried in the shul’s cemetery, synagogue board chair David Sher told the Pioneer Press Tuesday.
Fire marshals are investigating the cause of this fire, though no foul play is suspected.
Jewish holy books are traditionally given burials if they are damaged. Sher said that two or three truckloads of books had already been buried.
Matthew Amiot, a local resident with a history of homelessness and mental health difficulties, pleaded guilty in September to starting the blaze that destroyed the synagogue and injured a responding firefighter, saying he was just trying to light a fire to keep warm. Amiot was given supervised release so that he could try to obtain housing and treatment, but was arrested again two weeks ago for violating his probation. He was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in prison.
Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
