SEMINOLE, Fla. — A Torah buried underground for 20 years to protect it from Nazi occupiers was again saved from a fire that destroyed the Chabad of Greater Orlando headquarters Sunday.
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Firefighters said the flames erupted from the building’s roof around 11:30 in the morning. While the initial response team attacked the inferno, a secondary team of first responders entered and – following the directions of the rabbis – grabbed all the Torahs, including the historic one.
“You see this miracle come out of the smoke,” Jeff Berger, who raced over to the synagogue and witnessed the rescue, said. “You can’t describe the emotion that that that is, and it’s everything all at once. It’s joy and despair and gratitude.”
As with any religious building fire, the ATF and the Fire Marshal are investigating, but the fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical issue.
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The synagogue had just been used for a morning program and was empty at the time of the fire, rabbis said. A children’s group was occupying the building next door. Another group was expected to hold an event in the building a few hours after the fire began.
Rabbis said a security guard noticed the flames as he checked to make sure the building was secure.
“We have no clue what’s going to be on from here,” Dovid Dubov said. “We know that we have a community, and they’re going to support us, and they’re going to help us rebuild our building and our organization. So we look forward to good days coming ahead.”
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The fire happened just days before the start of Rosh Hashana, this is the Jewish new year.
The loss of the building will cause some logistical problems for worshippers who are not supposed to drive during parts of the holiday.
You can visit Chabad’s website for information about how to help the recovery effort.
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