Gentilly, LA – Congregation Beth Israel was located at 7000 Canal Blvd. in Lakeview until the synagogue filled with eight feet of water after the hurricane.
Seven Torah scrolls and thousands of holy books were destroyed, many of them more than a century old.
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Members of Beth Israel gathered at Beth Israel Cemetery on Frenchmen Street in Gentilly to dedicate headstones to the seven Torahs, handwritten scrolls produced on parchment containing the first five books of the Old Testament. The scrolls are written in Hebrew and produced by specially trained scribes.
The Torah is a Jewish community’s most precious possession. Beth Israel has been holding services at Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie.
What a shame.
Hashem Yiracheim! it is such a tragedy!!
Why didn’t they protect the Torahs knowing that a hurricane was coming?
Look at a map of New O and the Lakeshore area. You can then envision the scene. They never thought that the levees would fail. When they failed and water from the lake gushed into Lakeshore everyone “ran for their lives” and the Torah tragedy ensued.