27-Year-Old Torah Scroll Finally Installed at New Yeshiva on Mount Ebal

A Torah scroll begun in 1999 by the late Nehemia Perlman was ceremoniously installed at the newly established yeshiva on Mount Ebal on Thursday evening, fulfilling a 27-year-old vision. Perlman, deeply connected to the historic site and a close friend of Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, started writing the scroll at Mount Ebal itself, dedicating it to the day a Jewish presence would be established there. After Perlman’s passing in 2012, the scroll was kept in the settlement of Kedumim and later at his home in Lod, awaiting the realization of this dream.

The event was attended by Yossi Dagan, Rabbi Elikim Levanon of Samaria, Rabbi Aviad Shinwell, head of the Mount Ebal yeshiva, Alisaf Pershan, CEO of Alon Moreh institutions, yeshiva students, and Perlman’s family. Dagan described the installation as a "huge victory of spirit and faith," emphasizing the historical significance of Mount Ebal as the place where the Jewish people first formed their covenant around Joshua’s altar. He framed the event as a decisive response to efforts to disconnect Jews from their roots and highlighted it as part of a broader plan to establish 18 new settlements in northern Samaria.

Rabbi Levanon called the Torah’s arrival a continuation of the ancient covenant and praised Perlman’s foresight. Perlman’s widow, Shlomit, emotionally recalled her husband’s deep bond to Mount Ebal and his belief in mutual responsibility among the Jewish people, likening the scroll’s 20-year journey to the Israelites’ desert wanderings before entering the land. Kedumim Council head Uzal Vatick praised Perlman’s vision and the community’s role in safeguarding the scroll until it reached its rightful place.

Alisaf Pershan expressed gratitude for the historic opportunity to establish the yeshiva branch on Mount Ebal and to install the Torah scroll, promising that the voices of Torah and settlement would only grow stronger. The ceremony concluded with celebratory dancing as the scroll was brought into the yeshiva, marking a symbolic and emotional closing of a long-awaited circle for the Perlman family and the community.