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Israel - “Out of the depths I cry to you,’ says the Song of Ascents in the Book of Psalms. These words will soon receive a different meaning, when a Torah scroll will be placed in Navy submarines for the first time in history.

Every permanent Israel Defense Forces base has a Torah scroll which is read on Shabbat, as well as on Mondays and Thursday.

Since the army began using submarines, no Torah scrolls have been brought in as hardly any religious soldiers served there. But the situation changed recently, after some hesder yeshiva students and even one haredi fighter joined the unit.

A family which donated several Torah scrolls to military bases in the past decided recently to donate another one, and the military rabbi they approached suggested that they donate it to the submarine fleet, whose fighters often spend long period of time in high seas – underwater.

The scroll would be about one-quarter of its regular size, so that it could be stored in a case the size of a shoe box.