Phoenix, AZ – A Sefer Torah and several other religious items were stolen from a Phoenix Shul and police are asking for the public’s help to find the thieves.
Police said the theft took place at Young Israel Synagogue of Phoenix located near Seventh Street and Maryland Avenue. The Sefer Torah was the most significant item stolen.
Members of the Shul realized a Torah had been stolen when they arrived for Davening on Monday morning and found a vacant space within the Aron Kodesh. The Shul door had been broken open.
“It’s emotionally devastating to the community,” Rabbi Reuven Mann said. “The Torah became a part of our lives and our soul.”
Mann said the stolen Torah is valued at around $35,000 but carries a much higher spiritual value.
“They are treated with tremendous reverence, passed on from generation to generation,” he said.
Police said they have no leads and do not yet have a motive in this crime.
(Source: KTVK)
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3 Responses
I don’t get it! We are in the 21st Century. I can’t remember that last time I was in a shul that didn’t have their Sifrei Torah stored in a safe! Why are they using a simple padlock to protect several $35,000 Sifrei Torah? That’s like leaving your Mercedes Benz parked outside with the keys in the ignition. “But it was parked on my driveway. That’s trespassing!”
Oy Gevalt!
we may be in the 21st century, but outside of NY, in places like Phoenix, folks leave their front doors unlocked. It’s a different world
Nonetheless it is a very strange story. Notice in the video that the silver was left on the other Sifrei Torah. And the other items stolen were a pair of Tefilin and a Tallis. This was no ordinary robbery. And the indignities when it came back: supposedly found in the trash, brought back in a garbage bag.
When calamities strike we often check Mezuzot scrolls. In this case the calamity was to the Torah scroll itself. This indignity to the Torah happened at a Young Israel in the state adjacent to where another Young Israel has a questionable situation. Perhaps the check needs to be the other way around.