[CPProt.net] Ancient torah stolen from synagogue; Fifty-pound scroll is valued at $40,000

[MSN CPPnet]

Ancient torah stolen from synagogue
Fifty-pound scroll is valued at $40,000
By Amy Yarbrough, STAFF WRITER  
 
BURLINGAME - Police are investigating the theft of a torah, worth about
$40,000, that was stolen sometime during the past two weeks from a local
synagogue. 
Officials at Peninsula Temple Shalom reported the document missing on Monday
but said they believe it was stolen between May 16 and 21, according to
Burlingame Police Sgt. Pete Tokarski. They waited to report it missing, he
said, because they initially thought it may have been taken for repairs. 

Handwritten in Hebrew on parchment scrolls, the torah is the first five
books of Jewish scripture and sometimes is referred to as the five books of
Moses. The main reading from the torah takes place on Saturdays, but the
work also is read from on three other days of the week. 

The stolen torah was a large scroll, weighing about 50 pounds and believed
to be particularly old, Tokarski said. Burlingame police have notified
authorities throughout the state of the theft and plan to check with
antiquities dealers, should anyone try to sell the document. 

Officials from Peninsula Temple Shalom could not be reached for comment on
Thursday. 

Rabbi Jay Miller, executive director of the Peninsula Clergy Network, said
the stolen torah likely is several hundred years old, and like any other
torah, "extremely valuable." 
Miller, who learned about the theft through an e-mail sent around to members
of the religious community, said the missing torah likely has a rich
history. Many of the older torot were taken out of Eastern Europe during the
Holocaust. 

"Because it is so precious, there's some hope it will be returned," Miller
said. 

Police ask anyone with information about the theft to call them at 692-8440.



Staff writer Amy Yarbrough covers police and public safety. She can be
reached at (650) 348-4339 or ayarbrough at sanmateocountytimes.com. 

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