"The new Sefer Torah is a milestone for Shivtei Yisrael, and the timing of its inauguration is highly significant."
By METRO STAFF
A new Sefer Torah has been written for Kehillat Shivtei Yisrael shul in Ra'anana. The whole community contributed to the acquisition of the Sefer Torah, which was inaugurated at a special ceremony on Sunday, June 1.
"The new Sefer Torah is a milestone for Shivtei Yisrael, and the timing of its inauguration is highly significant," said the shul's minister, Rabbi Daniel Beller, at the ceremony. "Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) symbolizes the return of the Jewish people to its spiritual heartbeat after centuries of exile - and during that exile it was the Torah we received at Mount Sinai on Shavuot that sustained us."
Thanks to dynamic British-born Rabbi Beller, Shivtei Yisrael is not only popular among English-speaking orthodox immigrants, but it is also well-known for opening its doors to the wider non-shul-going public for the purpose of Bar Mitzva programs and ceremonies, and to local secular kindergartens and schools.