Jerusalem Torah Scroll Completed in Honor of Hostages in Gaza

The completion of the Torah scroll was a culmination of a Week of Goodness campaign to raise awareness of the hostages. 

By Shula Rosen

Hundreds attended a Jerusalem ceremony commemorating the completion of a Torah scroll in honor of the hostages still held in Gaza.

The Torah scroll project was initiated by Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, as part of its Week of Goodness to raise awareness of the hostages.

Scribe Akiva Garber wrote the concluding 120 words with the intention that each word corresponded to a hostage still in Gaza.

After the final touches were completed on the scroll, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin carried the scroll down Yehuda Street in Baka underneath a wedding canopy.

The Torah scroll was brought to Hakhel Minyan Shivyoni, the Goldber-Polin’s congregation.

Addressing the participants, Rachel Goldberg-Polin said, “The last time I stood in this courtyard was on October 6, when we celebrated with the Hakhel community. We danced with the Torah.”

She added, “My plan was to return the next morning, but that was not to be.”

“Now here we are,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said at the Torah scroll dedication. “I am looking at this moment as completing the cycle of what was stolen from us. We will complete what we started. But how can we say the prayer with intention and meaning when our hearts are broken? Because we still see kindness, love and blessings. We have been cared for and nurtured and loved. We will say it from our bruised hearts.”

When the Torah reached its destination, it was unrolled, and the couple said the “Shehechyanu’ blessing on it, a blessing marking a new occasion.

The completion of the Torah scroll culminated Goldberg-Polin’s Week of Goodness campaign, which ran from July 14 to 21 and was meant to encourage participants to commit to good deeds in honor of the hostages.