Hundreds of visitors crowded Temple Beth Israel last week to witness an oratorical contest held by the Junior Zionists. Boys and girls participants walked nervously to the pulpit from which they discoursed on a Jewish subject. They competed for honors.
Near the end of the program a young woman walked briskly to the altar, handed a note to Rabbi Elliot M. Burstein and departed hurriedly.
The rabbi rose quickly to his feet.
“Friends,” he said in calm, soft-spoken tones, “do not be alarmed. There is a small fire in the building. I suggest you leave as quickly as possible.”
The audience arose hastily, making for the doors. In three minutes the auditorium was empty-save for Rabbi Burstein, still seated at the altar.
A woman suddenly rushed forward, surprised. “Aren’t you coming, Rabbi?” she inquired nervously.
The rabbi smiled and shook his head. “Not now,” he said. “You know I have to stay with the Safer Torah.”
And there he remained until a janitor, some fifteen minutes later, assured him that the flames had been extinguished.
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.
