Completion of Restoration and Transfer of the Renewed Sefer Torah to the Jewish Community of Kremenchuk
An important and inspiring event took place in the Dnipro Jewish Community – the completion of the restoration of a Sefer Torah for the Jewish community of Kremenchuk. After all necessary restoration work was carried out at the National Sofrut Center, the Torah scroll was handed over to a delegation of the Kremenchuk Jewish community led by its leader, the Chief Rabbi of the city, Shlomo Salamon.
The ceremony marking the completion of the restored Sefer Torah took place in the conference hall of the office of the Chief Rabbi of Dnipro and the region, Shmuel Kaminezki, on the 18th floor of the world’s largest Jewish center, “Menorah.” Present at the ceremony were respected members of the Dnipro Jewish Community and a representative delegation from the Kremenchuk Jewish community. Following the ceremony, a festive meal took place in a warm and joyful atmosphere.
The Torah Scroll of the Kremenchuk community required serious professional restoration, which was entrusted to an institution as authoritative and competent as the National Sofer Center in Dnipro. All restoration work was made possible through the support of esteemed member of the Dnipro Jewish Community, Yosef Dovid Belyaev, who not only covered the entire cost of the restoration but also purchased a new Me’il (also known as a mantle or “shirt”) for the scroll, and at his own expense organized a lavish meal in honor of the occasion. A special adornment for the renewed Torah Scroll was a new crown, a gift from Shlomo Salamon’s son-in-law, active shliach in Dnipro, Rabbi Levi Karelenshtein.
The restoration of every Sefer Torah and its continued use for Divine service holds special significance. The restored Sefer Torah will not become a museum relic or even an important historical artifact – it will live a full life. It returns to its main purpose: now in the synagogue of Kremenchuk, prayers, Torah readings, and the most important events of Jewish life will take place with this Sefer Torah. It will become another important symbol of the continuation and strengthening of the Jewish revival in Ukraine.
“This Torah Scroll is especially meaningful for our community, as it stood at the origins of the modern history of Jewish life in Kremenchuk. Nearly 28 years ago, just two weeks before my arrival for my shlichus to Kremenchuk, I was informed of this specific Torah Scroll in a truly remarkable way; it was given to me, and it was with this scroll that I came to our community. All these years, this Torah Scroll has accompanied the development and life of our community, and therefore its restoration holds special spiritual and emotional significance for us,” said the Chief Rabbi of Kremenchuk, Shlomo Salamon. “We, the Jews of Kremenchuk, are deeply grateful to our friends from Dnipro — the esteemed Yosef Dovid Belyaev and to all who took part in this noble effort. We are overjoyed that our Torah Scroll has been restored and handed over to us in such beautiful condition by the unified and cohesive Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
