On the Day of Didan Notzach, an important and bright event took place in the Dnipro Jewish Community – the completion and donation of a new Torah Scroll to the Jewish community of the city of Sumy. The scroll was written on the initiative of the Belyaev family – Yosef David and Yael Esther – for the merit of their child, Levi Chaim, for his complete and speedy recovery and a long, happy life.
The ceremony for the completion of the Torah Scroll was held in the “Ball Room” of the world’s largest Jewish center, “Menorah.” Numerous members of the Dnipro Jewish Community participated in it, who wholeheartedly thanked the Belyaev family and raised “L’Chaim” toasts for them and for the healing of their son.
The ceremony featured speeches by the Chief Rabbi of Dnipro and the region, Shmuel Kaminezki; the Chief Rabbi of Sumy, Yechezkel Levitansky; and the Chairman of the Board of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, Rabbi Meir Zvi Stambler. In their speeches, they emphasized the significance of this gift for the Jewish community of Sumy and the special importance of the event taking place precisely on the Day of Didan Notzach, thus having special merit before the Almighty.
The right to inscribe the final letters of the Torah Scroll was granted to many members of the Dnipro Jewish Community, as this is not only a great honor but also a special merit, the importance of which has been repeatedly emphasized by the leader of our generation, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The honor of writing the three most honored, final letters, to the applause of those present, was given to Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, Rabbi Yechezkel Levitansky, and the donor of this Torah Scroll, the esteemed member of the Dnipro Jewish Community, Yosef David Belyaev.
After this, Reb Yosef David Belyaev raised the completed Torah Scroll, and the son of the Rabbi of Sumy placed a special cover on it. Under a wedding canopy – a Chuppah – the Torah Scroll was carried through the “Menorah” center and then in a ceremonial procession through the streets, the historical quarter of Dnipro, and through the main entrance into the central synagogue “Golden Rose,” where Hakafot (circling with the Torah) took place.
“I wholeheartedly thank Mr. Belyaev and his esteemed wife, as well as the entire Dnipro Jewish Community for this wonderful gift to our synagogue and to all the Jews of the city of Sumy,” noted Rabbi Yechezkel Levitansky. “In our conditions, prayer with a Torah Scroll is extremely important, and each time we take this holy Scroll from the Ark, we will recite the “Mi Sheberach” prayer for the health of Levi Chaim ben Yael Esther until his complete and final recovery. May this happen as soon as possible, and we will ask the Almighty to bless with health, long life, and happiness his esteemed father, who does so much for the Jews of Dnipro and Ukraine.”
