Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

How Did This Torah Literally Get Burned Not Once But Twice?

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

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.