After the deadly strike in Beit Shemesh - Torah scrolls were brought to burial
Months after the missile fall that claimed the lives of nine people, a burial ceremony was held for the Torah scrolls of the "Tiferet Yisrael" synagogue. Zion Revah, who lost his son in the event and is now burying the scroll he donated: "It brings me back to the blow I received." The structure is expected to open during the Tishrei holidays.
Bereaved families, community leaders, and the gabbaim of the "Tiferet Yisrael" synagogue participated today, Sunday, in Beit Shemesh in a burial ceremony for the Torah scrolls that were burned by a missile strike earlier this year. The event took place in parallel with the work to rebuild the synagogue.
At the center of the ceremony was Zion Revah, who donated one of the burned Torah scrolls and lost his son Gabriel in that same strike.
"For me, this is a difficult day that brings me back to the blow I received this year when I buried my son, and now I am burying the Torah scroll that I collected shekel by shekel to write," shared Revah.
He added that the comfort lies in rebuilding the synagogue, a move that serves for him as a symbol of rising from the personal and communal grief.
Mayor of Beit Shemesh, Shmuel Greenberg, noted that the burned Torah scrolls are being interred with sorrow and honor. Greenberg added that the synagogue structure, which was completely destroyed, is in an advanced stage of reconstruction, and according to him, the place will be ready for the upcoming holidays. City council member Nati Gabay addressed the tragedy of the Revah family and defined the ceremony as a second burial for the father, while emphasizing the effort to return the community to its permanent home in the synagogue.
The scroll burial event comes following the direct hit that Beit Shemesh sustained last March, during Operation "Lion's Roar". In that event, missiles were fired at the city and interception systems failed to neutralize the threat. A missile hit directly into a public shelter above which the "Tiferet Yisrael" synagogue was built, causing the collapse and total destruction of several nearby buildings.
The strike, which was defined as the most severe since the start of the operation, led to the deaths of nine people and the injury of 48 others with varying degrees of injury, most of them as a result of blast damage and debris. At the time of the event, the IDF criticized Iran and claimed that the Tehran regime is knowingly directing fire towards Israeli civilians.
