Two Torah scrolls were recently stolen from Congregation B’nei Tzedek Chabad in Kenosha. The scrolls, which according to congregation president Ron Sanders are at least 60 years old, were discovered missing on Tuesday, April 15 by Rabbi Tzali Wilschanski.
Wilschanski, spiritual leader of the shul since September 2007, had taught a Torah study class at the synagogue on the night of the April 14. The scrolls were not used during the class, but when Wilschanski, 26, returned to the synagogue on Tuesday morning, he noticed that his laptop computer was missing.
Wilschanski immediately went to the chapel and discovered that both Torah scrolls were missing. The thieves left behind expensive silverware that accompanies the Torah, such as the crowns and breastplates, and other electronics in the building, such as a TV, DVD player and VCR.
The scrolls themselves are worth an estimated $40,000 to $60,000. Since the congregation only holds services on the first Shabbat of every month, they had not been seen since April 5.
Also taken in the theft were six new chumashim (bound editions of the Pentateuch), which Wilschanski said were discovered missing this week. The Kenosha Police Department has opened an investigation into the theft and is pursuing some leads, though no arrests have been made as yet.
“The status of the investigation is ongoing,” said Sergeant Hugh Rafferty, community relations/public information officer of KPD. Rafferty noted that the detective assigned to the case recently went on vacation, so there are no new developments at this time.
The synagogue building was locked at night, but the sanctuary is not a lockable room, Wilschanski said.
The thieves may have entered during the day, stayed in the sanctuary, which is upstairs (the Torah study class was downstairs), and waited for Wilschanski to leave the building at night. There was no sign of forced entry, but the deadlock was unlocked the morning of the 15th.
With the lights off in the chapel, the thieves “could have laid down in the pews and even if I walked in, I probably would not have noticed them,” said Wilschanski.
B’nei Tzedek Chabad is a relatively small congregation that does not have a paid membership; it operates on donations from congregants and support from the Wisconsin Chabad-Lubavitch organization.
Community response was immediate, Wilschanski said. “There has been a big outpouring [of support]; letters, voicemails, messages,” from the both Jews and non-Jews, he said.
In fact, the largest donation the synagogue has received for its new Torah fund was $1,000 and came from a non-Jew, Wilschanski said. “We need a lot of help,” he added.
Rabbi Dena Feingold, spiritual leader of Beth Hillel Temple in Kenosha lent B’nei Tzedek one of its Torah scrolls for the time being.
“Rabbi Feingold was great, very kind” to assist the congregation, said Wilschanski.
Not alone
The theft in Kenosha might not be an isolated incident; at least two other Chabad institutions have been victim to theft and vandalism recently.
The only Torah that belonged to Yeshiva High School of the Twin Cities, located in Cottage Grove, Minn., was stolen over Sukkot, on Sept. 30, 2007.
Rabbi Moshe Weiss, director of development for the yeshiva, told The Chronicle that the Cottage Grove police had a strong suspect, a former janitor of the yeshiva, who was questioned by authorities and took a lie detector test.
“It was quite a shock that he failed the polygraph so miserably,” said Weiss. “But he denied any involvement and there is nothing we can do” because polygraphs are not sufficient evidence to prosecute suspects. Weiss said the yeshiva is in the process of having a scribe write a new Torah for them.
More recently than the Kenosha theft, on April 22, the third day of Passover, the Chabad House in Miami Beach was vandalized, gutted by a fire and left without its Torah scroll.
Whether the scroll was stolen is not yet known, but a wooden stem that holds the scroll was found on the lawn of the synagogue, and no remnants of the parchment have been found. Also, prayer books were taken from a cabinet, torn to pieces and burned.
In October, a pair of fires ripped through the Miami Beach Community Kollel, destroying the main sanctuary of the building and causing an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 in damage, according to jewishbreakingnews.blogspot.com.
It is worth noting that the fire did not damage the Torah scrolls because they were stored in a fireproof safe, according to theyeshivahworld.com.
The cause of those fires was not determined, but arson was suspected.
In response to a request by United States Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), whose district includes the Community Kollel and the Chabad House, FBI director Robert Mueller said on April 23 that those fires will be investigated as hate crimes.
Mueller was testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, of which Wasserman Schultz is a member.
If you would like to assist B’nei Tzedek Chabad, log on to www.jewishkenosha.com or call 262-359-0770.
UPDATE – Only on the Web:
Another South Florida Chabad was the victim of vandalism. On April 30 the Miami Herald reported that a series of swastikas were spray painted onto a building of the Chabad of Parkland.
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