Manhattan Beach Welcomes New Torah

Chabad Lubavitch of Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn celebrated the dedication and welcoming of a Sefer Torah one year after Hurricane Sandy. The Sefer Torah was sponsored by the Glasser Family, in loving memory of their dear father, Yisroel Glasser, OBM.

The event began inside the Chabad House, where the final letters were being written. A parade and procession followed, with hundreds of adults and children participating.

The march began on West End Ave. and continued onto Brighton Beach Ave. The facial expressions of the onlookers was remarkable. People on the street stopped to partake in the procession, and hold and kiss the new Torah. Prominent Rabbis and communal leaders joined the procession and were honored to hold the Sefer Torah.

“The Torah is referred to as a ‘Song.’ How do we, the Jewish people, make the Torah and its teachings truly a part of us? When the Torah becomes our personal anthem, when we can say this is ‘my song,'” said Rabbi Avrohom Winner, Director of Chabad Lubavitch of Manhattan Beach.

There was excitement in the air; the music, holding the torches and dancing on the streets gave everyone such Jewish pride. “It simply felt good that we can do this, in contrast to our parents who in the former Soviet Union had to hide their Jewishness,” said one participant.

The Parade was followed by a Buffet Dinner and Chassidic Farbrengen, with a simultaneous children’s program.

Photos by Martin Kamornik