[Video below.] A Sefer Torah and several other religious items were stolen from a Phoenix shul and police are asking for the public’s help to find the thieves. Police said the theft took place at Young Israel of Phoenix located near Seventh Street and Maryland Avenue. A Sefer Torah was the most significant item stolen.
Members of the shul realized a Torah had been stolen when they arrived at the shul Monday morning and found a vacant space within the aron kodesh. The shul door had been broken open.
“It’s emotionally devastating to the community,” Rabbi Reuven Mann, the rov, said. “The Torah became a part of our lives and our soul.”
Rav Mann said the stolen Torah is valued at around $35,000 but carries a much higher spiritual value.
“They are treated with tremendous reverence, passed on from generation to generation,” he said.
Police said they have no leads and do not yet have a motive in this crime.
Click below for a video report:
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