Forty years after the Rebbe first requested that every Jewish Child acquire a letter in the Sefer Torah, the eighth Children’s Sefer Torah is now underway.
By Anash.org reporter
On Yud Alef Nissan 5741, the Rebbe announced a new initiative; A Torah should be written for children, uniting Jewish children around the world. Over the next few days, the Rebbe farbrenged another two times, urging chassidim to sign children up for the special Torah.
Forty years later, seven Sifrei Torah have been completed, uniting close to two million Jewish children from every corner of the globe. The siyum on the seventh Sefer Torah is planned for Chof Av this year, exactly 40 years since the Siyum of the first Torah.
Right before Shavuos, the Yom Tov of mattan Torah, organizers have announced that the seventh Torah has been completed and the eighth Children’s Sefer Torah is now underway.
Just in the past week alone, 5908 children have acquired a letter in the eighth Torah, including 3248 from the diaspora and 2660 from the Eretz Yisroel.
“Two days before Shavuos 5741, the Rebbe said there is a threat in the world that could bring chaos and destruction,” recalls Rabbi Shmuel Greisman, the director of Ois B’Sefer Torah. “Something had to be done quickly, he stressed, and he again pointed to the Children’s Torah Scroll as the means to avert the danger. Not even one child should be overlooked, he directed.”
“On the eve of Shavuos — Sunday, June 7, 1981 — what the Rebbe was talking about became clear. That day the Israelis bombed the nuclear reactor in Iraq. Although the mission was fraught with tremendous danger, miraculously it succeeded in disabling the ability of Saddam Hussein — the Iraqi dictator — to wage a nuclear war.
“When the news came out about the Israeli operation, everyone understood that the Rebbe’s campaign for the Children’s Torah Scroll was connected to this threat to the Jewish people and now that threat had been thwarted.”
Rabbi Greisman also notes that shluchim, school administrators, camp directors, and teachers have the ability to encourage large numbers of children to sign up, simply by speaking to their students about the mivtza, and explaining how important it is that each one purchases a letter.
To sign children up for the Children’s Sefer Torah: https://www.kidstorah.org/
For schools and large groups: https://www.kidstorah.org/UploadExcel
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