A new Sefer Torah was dedicated on Sunday in memory of Rabbi Yudi Dukes, the tireless director of JNet, at his home and at Chabad of Five Towns. “This tremendous tribute is equally awe-inspiring and heartbreaking for me,” Mrs. Sarah Dukes wrote.
A new Sefer Torah was dedicated on Sunday in memory of Rabbi Yudi Dukes, the tireless director of JNet, at his home and at Chabad of Five Towns.
The final letters of the Torah, which was started at the bar mitzvah of his son Boruch Dukes, were written at the Dukes home.
The Torah was then paraded in a joyous procession down the streets towards Chabad of Five Town, where the customary hakafos were held.
“This tremendous tribute is equally awe-inspiring and heartbreaking for me. It is difficult to comprehend that we will be celebrating this holy event FOR Yudi instead of WITH Yudi, when Torah is what gave Yudi life. Yudi read it weekly. Learned it daily. Taught it naturally. Yudi loved Torah. He lived it,” Mrs. Sarah Dukes wrote ahead of the event.
“Just as the Torah is eternal, Yudi’s essence and all that he inspired will forever continue. And having a Sefer Torah written in honor of Yudi is one of the greatest privileges and a fitting tribute to a man who devoted his life to Torah.
“Bringing this Torah from an idea to actuality was made possible by my brother-in-law, Asher Ashrei Dukes, who orchestrated the entire project. This everlasting gift is an immense honor to his brother and will serve as a comfort to Yudi’s family, friends, and especially to his children. Our children.
“The first letters of this special Sefer Torah were written by a scribe at my son Baruch’s Bar-Mitzvah last year- a simcha that took place just a few weeks after Yudi passed away. Baruch helped write the very first letter, beis, and his siblings, family, and friends followed suit.,” she wrote.
There are still sponsorship opportunities available to help cover the costs of the event itself, and to adorn this special Sefer Torah with the ornaments of a crown. If you would like to participate in any way, please email Asher at [email protected].
It was a remarkable event in our family’s life. Asher spearheaded this from the beginning and saw it through to today’s culmination, and family members pitched in to make it happen.
Yudi was dancing right there with us; it was a celebration of our precious Torah that transcended time, and will be a powerful memory in all of our lives.
Thank you to everyone who came out (and watched on zoom) to participate in this special tribute to my son, Chaim Schneur Zalman Yehuda Ben Hinda Yocheved. May his name and neshama always be linked with the holiness that is our Torah!