A van owned by a Washington synagogue was stolen and used in a bank robbery.
A Dodge Caravan owned by Ohev Shalom-The National Synagogue was taken from outside Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld’s house and used as a getaway vehicle in a Sept. 2 bank robbery in Clinton, Md., according to The Washington Post.
The one-time taxi, which some at the synagogue referred to as a “Jewmobile,” was decorated with Stars of David on its sides and had an advertisement for the synagogue draped over its rooftop light. The van was found three weeks later with its motor ruined but missing only the rooftop light and advertisement, which featured a shofar.
In his sermon on Oct. 8, Yom Kippur evening, Herzfeld said the thief had missed the symbolism of the shofar.
“The shofar on the van was a message to repent, to come to synagogue and pray,” he said, according to the Post. “Yet he didn’t hear the shofar; he stole the shofar.”
Herzfeld said that when he decorates the next synagogue van, he will add the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Steal.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
