Photos courtesy of Jay Pea Productions.
It was the first time in my life (and hopefully last) that I participated in such an event. In Jewish life, after a human being, a Torah scroll is the most sacred object we have. That is why when a Torah scroll is destroyed it must receive a proper burial.
After the funeral, at the shell of the burnt out synagogue, we proceeded to the cemetery where the Torah scrolls and other religious articles were buried. It too was a tearful experience, especially when the Kel Moleh prayer was recited in memory of Ezra Schwartz, HY’D, the young American yeshiva student who was tragically murdered in Israel a few days before. Ezra’s grandparents are members of the Edison community and a bus full of community members went to Sharon, MA for his funeral. After the burial of the Torah scrolls, Rabbi Mykoff recited Kaddish.
May we blessed to only celebrate joyous occasions in our lives.
Josh Pruzansky is the New Jersey Regional Director for OU Advocacy/Teach NJS.
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.
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