Monroe, NY – A sacred Torah scroll has been found, apparently left on a ShortLine Coach USA bus and company officials have enlisted the aid of officials in the Village of Kiryas Joel to find its owner.
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Village Public Safety Director Moses Witriol retrieved the scroll from ShortLine headquarters in Mahwah, NJ and the bus company and he are trying to determine its rightful owner and return it.
Witriol told MidHudsonNews.com the Torah is between 20 and 30 years old and in good condition.
ShortLine is attempted to determine what route that particular bus had in an effort to find its owner. Witriol suspects it belongs to a congregation that spends the summer months in Sullivan County and may have brought with its members by bus recently.
For now, the sacred scroll is locked up in a Kiryas Joel synagogue.
If anyone has an idea as to who the Torah belongs to, they are asked to call the Village of Kiryas Joel Public Safety Office at 845-782-5577.
Since when would a Police Commissioner be able to say how old a Torah is ? -k-
if it is in Mr. Witriol’s hand it will find it’s owner !
Probably belongs to someone shlepping it up to a bungalow colony shul and got off the bus forgetting he had the sefer in the luggage rack or wherever he left it. Not a smart move and there is probably one very embarassed yid explaining “rabosai, I lost the sefer”
Maybe its Michoel Streichers….
Reminds me of what my menahel used to say before the we would leave to camp “dont remember the kokosh cake and forget the teffilin”
the torah itself was not mysterious rather the fact that it was left on the bus was mysterious
Usually if its starpped from the outside means its Pusil
To me it looks like a pusil sefer tora it has the gartel on the outside in any case it dosnt really matter the owner should be found i just hope its not a stolen one from some shul that wont even realize till simchas tora when they take out all the toras to dance hakofes
It is halachicly problematic to stow a Sefer Torah on a rack with luggage. Not to mention a bizayon to forget a Sefer Torah! Would one forget his son?
The gartel is on the outside, is the sefer posul? The sheriff said it is in good condition.
Mr. Witriol is the right man doing a lot of chesed for all jewish ppl when in need, now he will for sure get the lost seifer torah to the orignal boss! Good luck mr.witriol תזכו למצות
Who says the Torah was stowed? Maybe it was left intentionally.
Please type out the names that are on the mantele (cover) this might help .
who would leave a torah like this? Could be it was stolen and thief left it on the bus?
It should be easy to find the owner since the torah cover has the name of the person who donated it on the embroidery (e.g. avram ben moishe, zt’l.)
A Torah scroll is not the kind of thing to “forget” on a bus. The eitz chaim (sash) on the outside indicates the Torah is posul, impractical to take out to a bungalow colony.
The gartel on the torah is on the outside, because the mentaleh isn’t the same like all the others fit to sefer torah, its wrapped like a tablecloth so when you open it , it can be used as a tablecloth under it when you read it. The mentaleh is twice as big as the scrolls itself. it looks old because (1) when you open it, you can tell on the edges and the yeriahs how it looks (2) they tried to google or white pages any of the names inscribed and couldn’t find anything, it was inspected in 2007. It also has markings of #4 all around which can be its from a shull that has a few sifrei torahs and this is #4 . Also usually when a jew travels with a sefer torah he wraps it with a talis and this was just on the luggage rack on top of th bus. However if you know something say something 8457825577
I am sure the one who left the Torah on the bus, will realize it soon enough and the Torah will be returned to whom it belongs.
There were probably a few people there with the Torah, and each of them assumed that the other took it. Not unusual if they are in a rush.
Marriage Announcement
NY Times June 22, 1947
ABOTT & GOLDMAN
Mrs. Hannah K Goldman announces marriage of daughter, Louise, to William Abott. June 15 at Free Synagogue. Rabbi Stephen S. Wise officiated. (shr”y)
HANNAH GOLDMAN April 25 1896 – Sep 1985