History in Berlin: The city center closes for a Torah dedication ceremony

By DAVID BERGER

Published: SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 15:54

Hundreds of members of the "Kehillat Adat Yisrael" community, along with young children holding flags, danced and celebrated with the Torah scroll and its canopy, right in the heart of Berlin. Rabbi Avichai Apel, Chairman of the German Rabbinical Council and Vice President of the Conference of European Rabbis, declared: "The scrolls burn, but the letters remain in the air."

Hundreds of members of the Torah-observant community "Kehillat Adat Yisrael" in Berlin, led by Rabbi Avichai Apel, Chairman of the German Rabbinical Council, Vice President of the Conference of European Rabbis, and Rabbi of Frankfurt, along with the community’s rabbi, Rabbi David Roberts, Germany’s Chief Military Rabbi and Rabbi of Leipzig, Rabbi Mordechai Bala – all members of the permanent committee of the Conference of European Rabbis – and other German rabbis, participated in the Torah dedication ceremony. The event also included the heads and students of the "Beit Zion" Torah institutions and the Rabbinical Seminary, leaders and members of the Jewish community of Berlin, and guests from across Germany and Israel. Among the distinguished attendees were Rabbi Yitzchak Ehrenberg, the German Minister of Culture, the Israeli Ambassador, and key figures from the Conference of European Rabbis, including CEO Gadi Gronich and Secretary General Rabbi Aharon Shmuel Baskin.

The Torah scroll was brought through the streets of Berlin and into the "Kehillat Adat Yisrael" synagogue, housed in the historic "Beit Zion" synagogue, which survived Kristallnacht.

Rabbi Avichai Apel said at the ceremony, held in central Berlin: "Here, the words of Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon are fulfilled: 'The scrolls are burning, but the letters fly in the air.' We are completing the writing of a Torah scroll in the heart of Berlin, in Bebelplatz, the same location where 70,000 holy books were burned by Nazi 'academics' and students in 1933. The Torah is being brought to the holy ark of 'Beit Zion,' a synagogue that survived Kristallnacht and now serves a thriving community rising from the ashes on German soil. We must also give thanks to all who took part in making this historic event possible, including the Berlin community led by Dr. Gideon Jaffe, the Conference of German Rabbis, the Conference of European Rabbis, and especially the efforts of Mr. Avi Tuviana."

It was a moving and historic scene in the streets of Berlin, unlike anything witnessed since World War II. Hundreds of community members, rabbis, students, and about 200 children from the community's Torah institutions, joyfully danced with the Torah scroll and its canopy. The celebration took place in central Berlin, passing landmarks like Alexanderplatz, Unter den Linden, and Tucholskystrasse, where copper plaques embedded in the sidewalks memorialize the Jewish families who were deported and murdered, with their names and the dates of their deaths engraved.

Shuva Israel

Berlin's police and security forces closed off entire streets to secure the procession, which continued until reaching Brunnenstrasse, one of the city's main thoroughfares. The spectacle was awe-inspiring, with hundreds rejoicing in the Torah’s celebration. Neighbors looked on from their windows, and hundreds of curious onlookers responded with amazement.

The Rabbinical Seminary of Berlin, along with its associated community, was founded nearly 150 years ago by the great Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer zt"l. During its years of operation, the seminary trained hundreds of students, many of whom went on to serve as rabbis and Torah teachers in Jewish communities worldwide. The seminary functioned until Kristallnacht.

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About fifteen years ago, at the initiative of the President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, and Vice President of the Lauder Foundation, Rabbi Joshua Spinner, the yeshiva was re-established. Later, a rabbinical seminary was also founded within it, continuing the legacy and tradition of the original institution. Since its renewal, the seminary has trained dozens of Orthodox rabbis who now serve in Jewish communities across Germany and Europe. The seminary was once presided over by Rabbi Chanoch Ehrentreu zt"l, Chief Judge of London’s Beit Din and Head of the Rabbinical Courts of Europe. Today, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Farbstein, Head of Hebron Yeshiva, serves as a co-president of the seminary, frequently visiting to deliver lectures and guide rabbinical students. He regularly delivers remote lessons on Talmudic and halachic topics and oversees rabbinical examinations and ordinations.

"Kehillat Adat Yisrael" and the Rabbinical Seminary in central Berlin are housed in the "Beit Zion" synagogue, which miraculously survived Kristallnacht and was authentically restored, largely based on one surviving interior photograph, thanks to the significant financial efforts of Ronald Lauder.

The community and the seminary are the center of the Orthodox Jewish community in Berlin, especially following the immigration of many Jews from the former Soviet Union to Germany, and specifically to Berlin. These immigrants reconnected with their Jewish roots, leading to the need for the establishment of a traditional Orthodox community. Since then, the community has grown alongside its educational institutions, including preschools with around 120 children and a school with hundreds of students receiving a traditional Jewish education. Additionally, the Jewish outreach organization "Jewish Experience" operates across Germany, offering chavruta learning and lectures, many of which are led by graduates of the Rabbinical Seminary and the "Beit Zion" Kollel.Rabbi David Roberts expressed his satisfaction, saying: "We are filled with joy to see the great thirst for Torah here. The Berlin Jewish community is one that upholds the laws of kashrut and purity, and with God’s help, we continue to witness its growth and success every day. However, we also see the thousands of Jews walking the streets of Berlin, many of whom are spiritually disconnected. We bear the responsibility and privilege to continue working to bring them closer to Torah, and with God's help, the light of Torah will bring them back to their roots. The scene we witnessed today in the streets of Berlin fills us with tremendous motivation to continue these sacred endeavors, and I hope that the walls within the hearts of the Jewish people will crumble, allowing us to bring them back to Torah and to reconnect them with God’s service."

This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel