Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote the first letter and Israel's President Isaac Herzog wrote the last in the scroll meant to symbolize peace and unity between the two countries; It will be placed in Kyiv's Great Synagogue JCC, Beit Menachem.
A little more than two years after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and about half a year after the start of the war in Israel, the writing of a special Torah scroll dedicated to the Jewish community in Ukraine, the residents of Israel, and the longed-for peace in both countries has been completed. The Torah scroll will be placed in the coming months in Kyiv's Great Synagogue JCC, Beit Menachem.
he writing of the scroll was initiated by Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Chabad emissary in the city, Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, who has worked to strengthen the solidarity between Israel and Ukraine. The writing of the Torah scroll began shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote the first letter of the scroll in his office in the underground presidential bunker in Kyiv.
Among those who wrote letters in the Torah scroll were the chief rabbis of Israel, Jewish soldiers in the Ukrainian army, Jewish prisoners in prisons in Ukraine, members of the Jewish community in Kiev, families of hostages, families of those killed on October 7 and relatives of soldiers who fell in the battles in the Gaza Strip, as well as prominent rabbis and other influential Jews in Israel and the Jewish Diaspora.
President Isaac Herzog wrote the last letter in the Torah scroll, in a ceremony held at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. The Beilin family from Sderot, which immigrated to Israel from Ukraine; also participated in the event; Zina Beilin was killed moments after leaving her elderly mother Galina's home, whom she had visited as soon as the sirens began.
"Throughout thousands of years of exile, wherever they were in the world, the Jewish people united around the Torah. Even today, we are in an especially challenging period, where the Jewish people and the Western world are defending themselves against enemies who oppose the values of truth and the desire to live in peace and tranquility," Herzog said at the ceremony in Jerusalem. "Therefore, the integration of forces between the Jews of Israel and the Jewish community in Ukraine constitutes a powerful force multiplier for the survival and continuity of the Jewish people. There is nothing more moving than being a part of writing a Torah scroll that symbolizes this special unity, especially now."
Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch added: "It is a great honor for us that both distinguished presidents, representing all the citizens of their countries, saw it fit to participate and inscribe a letter in the sefer Torah that symbolizes unity. When we began writing the sefer Torah, we did not think we would reach a situation where our brothers, the people of Israel in the Holy Land, would also be under the threat of cruel war. The common denominator between the Jews of Israel and Ukraine is the story of Jewish heroism and resilience. The Jewish community in Ukraine greatly appreciates the assistance it received from Jews around the world and from Israel, immediately upon the outbreak of the war, and the connection between the Jewish fate in Israel and Ukraine strengthens everyone and highlights Jewish pride."