Stolen Torah is Lesson in Positive Thinking

ST LOUIS, MO — Rabbi Yosef Landa was devastated when he opened the arc at Bais Menachem-Chabad during a Sabbath service and discovered one of the Torahs was missing. But his attitude today is positive. “We can all learn lessons from this,” he said. “We’re looking to make lemonade out of lemons. We’ll take this event and grow from it. We’re already contemplating commission of a new Torah scroll and that will be a joyous occasion.”

The Rabbi is very sad. “A rabbi is the protective authority of the Torah scrolls in a congregation. I’m personally responsible for safeguarding the Torahs, making sure they stay kosher, in good repair and are safe. It’s a loss for the entire congregation, the entire community, and it’s a more personal and deeper loss for me,” he explained.

The community has been sympathetic. Everywhere he goes people have expressed their concerns. “A jogger ran past me today and asked, ‘Did you find the Torah? I wish you the best of luck.’ Wherever I go, people are talking about it. It is what it is.”

Rabbi Landa said that in his gut, he does not feel the incident is connected to the Torah scroll thefts in other cities. “The other items – a reader’s oversized prayer book and a Haftorah were taken two weeks before the Torah was discovered missing. I think the same person came back for more. It’s not about money (the value of the Torah is $30,000 to $40,000)—which makes it strange, because the thief didn’t take the other Torah. My initial thought was the thief is some local nut case.”

In any case, the Rabbi hopes that his congregation learns an important lesson: out of failure can come success, whether or not they get their Torah back.