New Torah for Adass community
Adass Israel celebrates first Torah scroll as Rabbi Moshe Benedict completes 22-year project
Melbourne’s Adass Israel community marked a historic milestone on Sunday when congregation member Rabbi Moshe Benedict completed a 22-year journey writing his own Torah scroll and gifted it to his synagogue in a joyous street procession just days before Passover.
The dedication ceremony drew more than 1000 participants, including international guests and senior police officials, who escorted the new scroll through Melbourne’s streets to the congregation’s temporary synagogue.
The community has been displaced since its main premises were firebombed in December 2024.
The scroll is the first the Adass congregation has received since its founding, and Rabbi Benedict is the first local member to write and donate one.
He dedicated every morning after prayers to the project over more than two decades, pausing only briefly during COVID-19 lockdowns when access to a mikvah was unavailable.
The celebration was led by Rabbi Benedict’s father, Rabbi Yitzchok Benedict, a prominent figure in the Chevra Kadisha and longtime president of the Talmud Torah.
Among those marching were Member for Caulfield David Southwick and Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion.
“The community stood together with strength and unity to celebrate the dedication of a new Torah,” Southwick said.
The festivities concluded with a formal dinner for 250 guests.