A Torah scroll, dedicated through an International Young Israel Movement (IYIM) program, was presented to the IDF's Iron Dome unit, which was recently deployed to guard the Haifa area. At the ceremony, held Wednesday, the Torah was officially presented to the Unit on behalf of the Leo V. Berger Fund by organization chairman Harvey Schwartz. Also in attendance was Rabbi Chagai Velosky, Chief Rabbi of the IAF.
IYIM's Ruby Davidman z''l Sifrei Torah project has dedicated over 200 Torah scrolls to IDF bases and units in the last 18 years.
The Iron Dome base was established in the area two weeks ago to ensure the safety of Israel's third largest city from attacks by terrorists in Lebanon, where long-range missiles were reportedly transferred from Syria by the terror group Hezbollah earlier in the month.
During the dedication ceremony, participants were shown around the base to see how the Iron Dome works to defend the country.
The Torah scroll was dedicated through the partnership of the Leo V. Berger Fund and IYIM. Under its "Challenge grant," the Berger Fund dedicates a third Torah scroll for every 2 scrolls dedicated by IYIM's project, .
The dedication project by IYIM is led by Rabbi Pesach Lerner and Lt.-Col. (Res.) Rabbi Yedidya Atlas, and focuses on repairing scrolls that fell into disrepair in North America and Europe for use on IDF bases.
IYIM announced that aside from its association with the IDF Rabbinate to provide Torah scrolls to soldiers, it is currently preparing for its upcoming annual Mishloach Manot Purim basket distribution.