When the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (formerly of New York and now Jerusalem) of Rose Wolf decided to honor her life of survival, dedication to Jewish values, selflessness and commitment to Torah and Zionism, they could think of no greater celebration than to dedicate a Sefer Torah to the IDF.
On March 15th, Rose, together with her two daughters, her son, children and 16 great-grandchildren, gathered with friends and 25 students from the Ashreinu Yeshiva in Bet Shemesh at the Beit Guvrin IDF training base.
There they were met by base commander Colonel N, Rav Lt. Colonel D (Rabbi of the Central command), a number of other generals and soldiers from the Intelligence, Golani, Search & Rescue, Paratroopers and other assorted units.
The joyful procession was preceded by a small ceremony in Commander N’s office where family members placed a new cover on the Torah which read: “Dedicated in honor of Rose Wolf—a lover of the Land of Israel, the People of Israel and the Torah of Israel.”
The procession, accompanied by loud joyful music, made its way under a chuppah around the base. The Torah exchanged hands between commanders, soldiers, family members, yeshiva students and guests. The procession ended at the base synagogue where the Torah was placed in the ark.
At the reception, Audrey Samuels, daughter of Rose, spoke about her mother and praised the soldiers. Ceec Harrishburg, President IYIM, made a presentation to Rose and then Commander N thanked Rose and explained how hundreds of soldiers every year pass through the training base and would now have a Torah to use on Mondays, Thursdays, Shabbat and other special occasions.
The event finished with soldiers thanking family members and guests, and guests and family members thanking the soldiers in the spirit of Am Yisrael Chai.
For further information on dedicating a Torah to the IDF: [email protected]
