Aish Hatorah partnered with the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin and parents Evie and Stuart Steinberg to host the completion and dedication of a Torah scroll written in memory of Max.
By SARAH LEVIStuart Steinberg holds the newly finished Torah up for attendees.(photo credit: SARAH LEVI)
With Operation Protective Edge becoming a faded memory, family, friends, fellow soldiers and strangers gathered this past Sunday at the Aish Hatorah center in Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate the life and remember the loss of fallen lone soldier St.-Sgt. Max Steinberg, the Los Angeles native who died at age 24.Aish Hatorah partnered with the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin and parents Evie and Stuart Steinberg to host the completion and dedication of a Torah scroll written in memory of Max, who fell in Gaza last summer.If there was one thing the several hundred guests could take away from gathering, it was that through these somber events, something positive and truly meaningful was granted to the thousands affected by Max’s life. As father Stuart, said, “He had the ability to unify the Jewish people; he reminded us we are all one people, and we are all Jews.”Max, the eldest of three siblings, didn’t really grow up with that strong of a connection to Israel; however, in 2012, he and younger brother Jake and sister Paige decided to go on Taglit-Birthright together to visit the Jewish state for the first time. It was during this trip that Max discovered a profound link to the land, the Jewish people and especially the soldiers.His siblings recounted: “He didn’t come to Israel with intentions of joining the army, but once he met soldiers, he saw... himself as actually being capable of contributing toward this cause – the cause we believe in.”Eventually he moved to Israel, very eagerly enlisting in the Golani Brigade’s 13th battalion in 2013. As Stuart recalled, “He cherished and embraced all of the soldiers; he found them to be family.”And the feeling was mutual, as literally dozens of soldiers from Golani and other units – some of them fellow lone soldiers – attended the event in his honor.Prior to the ceremony, the family commemorated his yahrzeit at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, where he was buried.The final letters of the Torah scroll were written by a scribe, on behalf of loved ones, culminating in the Steinberg family writing the last letter together. It was then that the shofar was blown, as Stuart Steinberg ceremoniously held the Torah up toward the attendees.Several speeches were shared by the family, Kulanu MK Michael Oren and former MK Dov Lipman – who has worked closely with the Steinbergs since last summer, and finally saw “comfort and a smile that I hadn’t seen since a year ago.”Once the ink was dry, the newly dedicated Torah was read and then wrapped up for guests to dance and celebrate with; the procession led to the roof of the center, overlooking the Western Wall.The Torah will be used and read from by lone soldiers in the coming year, with its final destination being a Golani, 13th battalion, base.The Steinberg family will maintain a presence in the Holy Land, as Max’s sister Paige is studying psychology at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
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