A Torah thief was apprehended while trying to sell a stolen Sifrei Torah. A store owner in Rishon L’Tzion was offered a stolen Torah for 1,000 NIS. The store owner came to police and explained how someone off the street tried selling a Sefer Torah to him for 1,000 NIS.

The store owner negotiated a deal with the thief that he would give him 200 shekels and hundreds of shekels would be given as a gift to a shul. He accepted the deal and gave the store owner the Sefer Torah. The buyer photographed the seller and brought the photo to police. He was identified by a detective in the station and they began tracking him down.

They quickly learned the Torah was stolen from a shul on Margulin Street in the city, in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Valued at over 140,000 NIS. On motzei Shabbos 8 Nissan the thief was stopped by police for a routine inspection. They realized he is wanted by police and they placed him under arrest.

The store owner who alerted police was summoned along with the shul’s gabbai and the donor of the Sefer Torah. It was returned in a ceremony that included the area police commander, Yehudi Ben-Atar and other department officials. The Sefer Torah was returned to Rabbi Tzvi Lau, a son of Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau Shlita.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)