Torah as Nazi Notebook Cover

Update: No one tailored it, apparently; here’s a version of the story with Rabbi Grossman’s own words.

After the ceremony, German Bundestag (Parliament) member, Detlev Herzig, of the SPD party, approached him [Moti Dotan] and related a passionate story. His father had died a few weeks before and, before his demise, he confessed to his son his part in the Holocaust. He explained that since there are many Holocaust deniers today, he wanted to present irrevocable evidence of the truth. He told his son that he had been an officer in the German air force, the Luftwaffe, during World War II, and handed him an envelope which contained the proof. Upon opening the envelope the astonished son found a Wehrmacht Army Officer’s Certificate, wrapped in a strange wallet made of parchment. His father explained that while destroying a synagogue he had found a scroll made of parchment and cut out a piece to use as a wallet. Later he discovered that the scroll was something very holy to the Jews. He told his son to give over the evidence to the first Jew he would meet and ask him to deliver it to a holy Jew in Israel who would know how to use it properly.

Upon returning to Israel, Dotan decided that the one who fit the description best was Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, Founder and Dean of Migdal Ohr, Chief Rabbi of Migdal Ha¹Emek, and recipient of the 2004 Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement. As exciting as the story was, Rabbi Grossman was curious to see what part of the Torah the Nazi ³happened² to cut out. His whole body trembled as the Rabbi read the terrifying words of the Tochacha (the chapter of Rebuke) in Deuteronomy, in which the Torah warns of terrible consequences if the Jews refuse to follow in the ways of the Law…

Rabbi Grossman, too, sees this present incident as a message to all of us to improve our ways somewhat. He is showing the Nazi¹s certificate and the Torah parchment to everyone he meets and is encouraging them to better their ways however they can. As a result, many have accepted upon themselves to put on tefillin every morning while others have agreed to observe the Sabbath properly. Some have become wary of the Jewish dietary laws and others chose other improvements.

“We cannot simply wave this aside as merely a coincidence,” argues Rav Grossman. “We must realize that the Nazi could have cut a part of thousands of other sections of the Torah. Yet the Hand of Divine Providence led him specifically to this chapter. It is something which must make us reconsider our ways.”