A new military base in northern Israel received some additional protection last week — some spiritual protection.
A Torah scroll donated by the International Young Israel Movement was dedicated at an Iron Dome missile unit, under the Israel Air Force command, which was established last month in the Haifa area. The base was set up in case long-range missiles are fired by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.
Similar Iron Dome units are already in place in the south, protecting against missiles fired by Hamas in Gaza.
The scroll at the new base was dedicated in a ceremony that featured singing and dancing and the participation of several prominent rabbis and Army officers. During last week’s ceremony, participants were shown around the base
The scroll was dedicated in memory of Israeli soldiers who have lost their lives in the defense of Israel. The sefer Torah is the latest of more than 200 donated in Israel during the last two decades by Young Israel’s Ruby Davidman Sifrei Torah project, which focuses on repairing scrolls that fell into disrepair in North America and Europe for use on IDF bases.
Young Israel is now raising funds to restore several Torah scrolls, obtained from Romania, which survived the Holocaust.
The project (www.redeematorah.org) is named in memory of Ruby Davidman, a New York resident who made aliyah three decades ago.
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