A Sefer Torah in memory of the late Yankele Katz Z”L
With the support of the Gush Etzion Foundation, the Katz family members have launched a campaign in order honor the memory of the late Yankele Katz Z”L, of Alon Shvut, by writing a Sefer Torah
Since our dear husband, father, and grandfather Ya’akov (Yankele) Katz passed away on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, 5781, our family has been thinking about the proper way to honor the memory and heritage of our patriarch. We tried to find a project which not only expresses the personality of our father, but also fulfills his will and preserves his legacy.
In the last few years, dad spoke a lot and enthusiastically about his strong desire to fulfill the commandment of writing a Sefer Torah, as it is expressed in Maimonides’ book “Hayad Chazakah”, the book of Jewish law which discusses Tefillin, Mezuzah, and Sefer Torah.
In chapter seven, Halacha number one of that book, Maimonides stresses clearly and in his unique way, “It is a positive commandment for every man, and man from Israel, to write a Sefer Torah for himself, as it says (in the verse from Deuteronomy), ‘And now write this song for them…’”
As a believing Jew, dad strived to fulfill this rare mitzvah with all his heart and soul. Unfortunately, dad passed away suddenly and was unable to fulfill this mitzvah, which was especially dear to him.
We consider it our right and duty to fulfill our father’s will, and to write a Sefer Torah in his memory and invite you to be our partners. As you know writing a Sefer Torah is very expensive (Around $40,000-$45,000).
As our sages teach us, “The law of a penny is the law of a hundred” or in other words, every donation no matter how large or small helps, and will be accepted with great appreciation, respect, and love.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Sincerely,
Shlomit – and all generations from the Katz family.