Torah stolen from Jewish school in Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove, MN — The Sefer Torah at MyYeshiva, the Yeshiva High School of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, was stolen during Chol Hamoed Sukkos. Thieves apparently broke in to the yeshiva building through a window in the zal, the study hall, and made off with the yeshiva’s only Torah. The Torah was donated last year to the yeshiva by a friend and supporter in honor of the school’s opening.

“There’s a feeling of violation when your car is stolen, or when your purse is snatched,” said Rabbi Mottel Friedman, executive director of MyYeshiva, “The feeling of having our Torah stolen, our most precious inheritance, is the worst type of violation. Our very souls have been wounded.”

Rabbi Moshe Weiss, Director of Development at MyYeshiva said that while the local police are investigating the case, the yeshiva must move forward with a campaign to replace the stolen Torah. “While we hope that our Torah is returned safely, we must ensure that we are not left without a Torah.”

Rabbi Weiss has spent many hours with the local police investigators, exploring all the possibilities and leads that might help bring about the return of the Torah.

The students of MyYeshiva will be returning from their Yom Tov break on Tuesday, when they will be told the news about their Torah. “We expect that the bochurim will be very hurt and down, and we will maximize our efforts to use this as an opportunity to grow and come away stronger from this experience,” said principal Rabbi Chayim Friedman.

A special fund has been created to raise money to purchase a new Sefer Torah for the school. Please visit www.myyeshiva.org and donate to the MyTorah Fund, or call the yeshiva at 651-459-4599.