(February 28, 2022 / JNS) The inauguration of a Torah scroll at the newly refurbished Beth-Zion synagogue in former east Berlin on Sunday was supposed to kick off with a cheerful, musical street procession. While not the synagogue’s first “hachnasat Torah” ceremony, they are always happy occasions — simchas — especially considering how they symbolize the revival of Jewish life in Germany, now home to some 200,000 Jews.
But after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, community leaders decided to scrap the music, and keep the ceremony simple and solemn.
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