A historic and emotional moment took place this week in Sa-Nur, as the town's original Torah scroll was returned for the first time in 20 years since the Disengagement.
The Torah scroll was brought back during a spontaneous and moving ceremony led by the core families seeking to renew Jewish presence in Sa-Nur.
The scroll was originally donated by the late Shaul Halfon, one of the early builders of the settlement, who also donated the synagogue and Torah ark. Halfon, a veteran soldier who parachuted into the Mitla Pass during the Suez Crisis under the command of former IDF Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan, established the synagogue in memory of his commander.
According to the family, the synagogue was the only building in Sa-Nur that was not destroyed during the evacuation. Instead, it was buried beneath large mounds of sand.
“Until the eve of the expulsion, the synagogue still stood complete with its roof and doors," recalled Shlomo Halfon, who was expelled from Sa-Nur at the age of 20. “On the final Sabbath before the evacuation, we brought the Torah scroll into the new building, and from there we were ultimately expelled together with it. The synagogue itself remained buried beneath the earth."
Since the disengagement, the Torah scroll had remained in the Halfon family home. About a year and a half ago, it was loaned to the “Bnei Chayil" yeshiva in Kedumim. According to Shlomo Halfon, his wife encouraged the move and said at the time, “Once the Torah scroll leaves the house, it will return to Sa-Nur - and we will return there as well."
During Independence Day celebrations this year, the Halfon family visited Sa-Nur and realized the Torah scroll was missing from the gathering. Shlomo and his wife immediately traveled to Kedumim, collected the scroll along with their six children, and returned to the settlement for a celebration attended by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Yossi Dagan.
“When I see Sa-Nur together with the core families, it feels as though the dead are coming back to life," Halfon said. “This was the holiest and most spontaneous Torah dedication possible. May we merit to return to all the communities from which we were uprooted - Gaza, Gush Katif and all of northern Samaria."
Oziel Vatik also reflected on the occasion, saying the only thing missing from the ceremony was Shaul Halfon himself, who had dedicated so much of his life to building Sa-Nur.
“Together we merited to restore the Torah scroll to its rightful place, marking the beginning of repairing the sin of the expulsion," Vatik said. “This is a joyful sign of renewed life in northern Samaria, toward many more communities and the expansion of existing towns."