By Delly Hezel and CSI Editorial Team
More than 80 years ago, the holy books of the Jews were destroyed in Germany. Today, "Christians Standing with Israel" wants to send a message and help ensure that the holy books of the Jews are restored in our country. Our colleague Delly Hezel also spoke with a German eyewitness to Kristallnacht.
Presumably, this Hebrew Bible, too, would have fallen victim to Kristallnacht or the burning of Jewish books on November 9, 1938. Georg Löb reads me a passage from it almost every day. During one of my visits, the now 93-year-old told me what he experienced as a 10-year-old boy in Giessen the day after that terrible night, when 1,400 synagogues were set ablaze in Germany. On November 10, 1938, there were no classes at the schools in Giessen. The city was in turmoil, and so it happened that Löb was in the pedestrian zone and saw SS men destroying Jewish businesses. They smashed windows, looted, and terrified the people. Löb saw them break into the Rosenbaum butcher shop. Old Mrs. Rosenbaum begged the SS men to stop. But they insulted her and threw a sausage at her.
The SS men also broke into the Zwang fabric shop with bestial violence and threw the bolts of cloth into the street. The Zwang family bought coal from Löb's father. They were very friendly people. And then there was his friend David Feldan. Löb often played with him in the park. One day, Feldan was gone. Löb also witnessed how the Jewish population within a radius of about 65 kilometers was transported to Giessen in open trucks. They were all crammed into the basement of the district office, the building that now houses the county administration. Löb tells me he can still hear the murmuring that came from the open windows back then. Today he knows that it was the Shema Yisrael that the Jews were reciting there—their highest and holiest prayer. From that day on, they had to wear the yellow star.
"Born for a time like this!"
After such conversations, our tragic German history feels even closer and more present to me. And how privileged I feel it is what is happening right now: Right now, "Christians Standing with Israel" has come into contact with Shlomo Raskin, the rabbi of a Jewish retirement home in Frankfurt. Right now, he is having a new Torah scroll written. Right now, we have the opportunity, as Christians standing with Israel, to participate. Right now, we can use our support to send a signal that we value Jewish life in Germany. And perhaps the verse from Esther 4:14 also applies to us: "Born for such a time!"
5,000 euros for sections of a new Torah scroll
The organization "Christians Standing with Israel" will contribute €5,000 to the production of a Torah scroll for the Jewish retirement home in Frankfurt. CSI Chairman Luca Hezel stated, "Our message is this: More than 80 years ago, Jewish books were destroyed in our country. Today, as 'Christians Standing with Israel,' we want to contribute to the re-production of Jewish holy books in Germany." Rabbi Raskin had to consult with his chief rabbi to determine whether a donation from Christians could even be accepted for the production of a Torah scroll. After review, the chief rabbi declared the donation kosher. Incidentally, the production of an entire Torah scroll costs between €30,000 and €50,000.
