A Moscow store, operated by the Soviet Government, recently sold to a Western tourist a snaredrum which used a portion of a Torah parchment as one of its skins, thus desecrating the Holy Scroll, the New York Herald Tribune reported here this weekend.
The newspaper, reproducing a photograph of the drum-skin, showed that the bottom of the drum had stretched a piece of Torah parchment inscribed with 35 verses from Chapters 17 and 18 of Genesis. The drum had been bought for 50 rubles (about $55) from Moscow store No. 32, a store where Soviet residents leave personal articles for sale by the government outlet.
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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.
