l'ilui nishmato, to elevate the soul of Noam Mayerson

לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי אָז אָבַדְתִּי בְעָנְיִי

תהילים קי"ט

Had not your Torah teaching been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
Psalms 119
So begins the invitation (excerpt shown on the left) from my cousins Gila and Chaim to join them today in a Hachnasat Sefer Torah, presentation of a Torah scroll in Tekoa, an Israeli settlement near Jerusalem.

The photo is of their son Noam Yaakov Mayerson, in whose blessed memory Isaac Leib and Ruth Rennert commissioned the hand-lettered Torah as an ilui neshama, an elevation of soul (or spirit) of the departed through the mitzva, good deed done in his name. On August 7, 2006, Noam was killed in the Second Lebanon War when Hezbollah terrorists opened fire on an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) unit in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil.

My pious cousins' choice of verse reflects their love of Torah, which guides and sustains their lives. They have come together before with family, friends, and community in sorrow. Today, was a coming together of more than 400 people to show respect for Noam and to celebrate a simcha, a rejoicing in the Torah presentation!

I shared the invitation with my friend Rabbi Dr. Michael Berger, who commented —

Just beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this – it is one of the real differences between living in chu”l [outside Israel] and in Aretz [the Land] – these “simple” invitations remind you of the existential realities of living in Israel much more than here [in the USA].

Days before the presentation, at the Siyum Sefer Torah (completion of the scribal process), a few honored people penned the last letters. In the photo shown here, Chaim, quill in hand, calligraphs on the parchment.

For centuries, Jews have dedicated the scribing of a Torah scroll to commemorate, honor, or strengthen other Jews. Of 613 mitzvot, commandments in the Torah, the final one is to scribe a Sefer Torah.

Today, the Torah was brought on permanent loan to Yeshivat Hesder Tekoa, where Yehoshua, Noam's elder brother teaches and where his youngest brother, Yoni, studies.

The procession began in the settlement synagogue from where the Torah, carried under a chupa (bridal canopy) and dressed in fine velvet cover and sparkling silver crown, continued to the Yeshiva.





















Once there, throngs danced with the "tree of life" (Proverbs 3:18).
















Among the celebrants was Adin Steinsaltz, head of the Yeshiva and noted rabbi, scholar, philosopher, social critic, and author who, in 1988, Time magazine called a "once-in-a-millennium scholar."
















Noam's close friend Daniel also danced with the Torah
















. . . while the band played music and sang.
















In the Sukkah, Yeshoshua read aloud Chaim's reflections on the celebration and on Noam's life.





















Everyone in the Sukkah feasted
















. . . and Noa and Noam, both named in memory of their uncle, enjoyed getting to know one another.
















About the photos. Thanks to Noam's friend Gadiel Boar who took the first photo, and to his aunt Lynn Mayerson Berger who took the rest.