An estimated 25,000 people attended the funeral held for eleven burnt Torah scrolls at the Viznitz center in Bnei Brak on Thursday afternoon, at the culmination of a day of mourning and a half-day fast the hassidut declared.
A short-circuit in the central Viznitz synagogue in Bnei Brak during Succot sparked a fire that left the scrolls severely damaged.
The Viznitz high rabbinical court followingly declared that the Tuesday
evening learning sessions until Pesach will be conducted without
speaking on matters that do not pertain to the course of study (ta'anit
dibur), and called on its adherents to be more respectful to scholars
and donate money toward the repairs of the fire's damage and the writing
of new Torah scrolls.
The charred scrolls were placed in clay urns, and buried in the Viznitz
plot in Bnei Brak. Viznitz is considered to be the second largest
hassidut in Israel.
Photos by Moshe Goldstein