Members of the Adat Yisrael community in Haifa this week completed and dedicated a new Torah scroll, written jointly by the community in fulfillment of the commandment to write a Torah scroll. The celebration took place in a spirit of joy, drawing many residents into the streets of Haifa for the procession and ceremony.
Adat Yisrael has operated in Haifa for more than 80 years and is now led by Rabbi Shneur Klapt, who succeeded his late father, Rabbi Yoel. The synagogue has recently grown along with the city’s expanding ultra-Orthodox community, as dozens of young yeshiva students and married scholars have joined its prayer and study circles.
In recent weeks, community members and supporters organized the Torah-writing project, and when it was finished, the city gathered for the public celebration. The event was attended by local rabbis and judges, including Rabbi Yechiel Yosef Bamberger, Rabbi Yekutiel Weiss, Rabbi Meir Dov Rechnitzer, Rabbi Meshulam Feish Rosenberg, Rabbi Yaakov Abargel, and Rabbi Menachem Bevif.
To honor the occasion, senior Torah leaders Rabbi Dov Lando and Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch sent a special letter of blessing to the community and its rabbi, congratulating them on the growing reach of sanctity in the city.