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There are so many incredible photos documenting the devastating deluge caused by Hurricane Sandy. But, this image of Torah scrolls being unrolled to dry after a Brighton Beach yeshiva in Brooklyn was flooded put another face on the damage. As Rabbi Avremel Okonov, who co-founded Mazel Academy ten years ago, told The Jewish Daily Forward:
“We’re drying them out. But I’m looking closely — a lot of these pages, it’s not reparable. This is just heartbreaking to look at.”Photo by Ben Harris
To give some context for all you goyim who might not know a lot about this kind of thing: Torah scrolls are considered so sacred that if they are damaged beyond repair, they have to be given a full burial. If someone accidentally drops one, they’re supposed to fast for forty days even if the scroll isn’t harmed in the fall. I doubt that these Torahs will ever be used again.
This hurts my heart.
torahs are hand written and the sheets are hand sewed together. it is such an incredibly long and detailed process. Some torahs are so beautifully done. this is like painful.
(via bootylecki)
