Jerusalem, February 21, 2017- Earlier this month, the International Young Israel Movement (IYIM), with the generous support of the Doppelt family, had the privilege of donating a Sefer Torah to Telem, an Israeli Border Police base located in the Hebron Hills.
The Sefer Torah, given in loving memory of Irving & Ricky Doppelt of Lawrence, New York, was donated by the Doppelts’ children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The IYIM team joined the donor family and their guests to celebrate and take part in a unique and transformative experience.
The group was greeted at Telem by the area Commander, Border Police Rabbinate representatives, officers and the fighters connected to the base. Following some light refreshments and getting acquainted, the guests were treated to a demonstration by the unit and were able to see the Border Police in action. In addition to the special significance of this Torah to the Doppelt family, the base at Telem has long awaited their own Torah, and as such the celebration was met with great anticipation on all sides.
There was much joyous singing and dancing with the visitors and fighters joining together to celebrate. An emotional ceremony followed, in which the area commander and representatives of the Israeli Border Police Rabbinate spoke of the importance of Torah scrolls for the Jewish Nation as a whole and Israeli Defense Forces in particular, and extended their thanks and gratitude to the Doppelt family for their generous donation. “This occasion is one of great significance for the fighters of Telem – one they will take with them for a lifetime,” noted Rav Yitzchak Bleichbard, Rav of the Border Police bases in Judea and Samaria, and key in coordinating the day’s events. “The Torah begins with the letter ‘bet’ and ends with the letter ‘lamed.’ Together this spells the word ‘lev’ [heart] – and we thank you with all our heart.”
Steve Doppelt, son of Irving and Rocky Doppelt, joined by his wife Carol, described the decision for the family to donate a Torah to the Defense forces as “a most fitting commemoration of my late parents’ commitment to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.” He also added that his family saw “the success of the dedication [as] 100% due to IYIM’s coordinating efforts.”
The IYIM Warrior Torah Program provides individual donors and donor communities with an incredible opportunity – restoring an otherwise pasul or unused Sefer Torah to its former glory, and dedicating it towards one of the most important causes in the Jewish world today – guiding and protecting the lives of Israel’s soldiers as they defend the Jewish homeland and all of the Jewish people.
To learn more, contact warriortorah@iyim.org.il or visit us as www.warriortorah.org.
