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Remembrance Day Marked In Media With Rededication Of 130-Year-Old Torah

By John Ostapkovich

MEDIA, Pa. (CBS) - There will be an emotional ceremony this afternoon at a Delaware County retirement community rededicating a sacred object that brings light from a dark past. Holocaust Remembrance Day Marked In Media With Rededication Of 130-Year-Old Torah

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, a 130-year-old Czech Torah, orphaned when Jews were deported and in most cases killed, will be introduced at Martins Run Senior Living Community, in Media.

Rabbi Meryl Crean says the ceremony, 1:30 this afternoon, free and open to anyone, will include remarks by the last man to have been a Bar Mitzvah using that Torah.

"We'll be welcoming Jiri Schreiber, who is the survivor, over Skype, telling his story a little bit.  We're also going to be watching a video that was prepared for us. The video is a history of the town and in particular the Jewish contribution to the town."

Rabbi Crean says this Torah was acquired in 1983 from a preservation group, but now, refurbished, it's a triumph of human values over evil, new life for a "ritual object left for dead."

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