The Federation of Rumanian Jewish Communities has announced that 305 Torah scrolls and some 9,000 volumes of the Talmud have been shipped to Israel with a special authorization from the Rumanian government. The Federation said that an additional 30 — 40,000 books of Jewish religious interest will be sent to Israel in the next few months.
A Rumanian law prohibits the export of old books of historic or artistic importance but these shipments to Israel have been granted a special permission by President Nicolae Ceausescu at the request of Chief Rabbi Moses Rosen.
Rosen issued an official statement thanking Cecuseecu for the authorization to export the books to Israel “so that they can continue to be used for the same holy purpose with which they served our fathers and grandfathers.” The first major shipment of scrolls to Israel took place in 1966 when 3,500 Torahs were sent to various Israeli institutions.
A special Israeli committee, which includes Religious Affairs Minister Yosef Burg, Bar-Ilan University President Emanuel Rackman and Rosen himself will decide on how to distribute the newly arrived scrolls and books.
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