The Kibbutznik Told Me: ‘Mom Appeared to Me in a Dream and Said She Had No Rest’

Many customers visit Rahamin Khavi's spacious store in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem, seeking to purchase Torah scrolls, tefillin, mezuzot, or complementary products. But the woman who arrived that day was entirely exceptional.<\/p>

"She introduced herself as a kibbutznik living in one of the kibbutzim in the north," Khavi recounts, who has been in this field for over 20 years, "and she had one request - to buy a Torah scroll for the elevation of her mother's soul. When I asked her what led her to this decision, she told me that she recently had a dream where she saw her mother saying she had no rest and wanted her to do something for her in the synagogue. The daughter, who had never set foot in a synagogue before, approached the gabbai of the nearby synagogue and asked what they were missing. The gabbai replied they needed a Torah scroll, as one hadn't been brought to the synagogue in years, but clarified that it was a significant financial endeavor. The money apparently didn't concern her much, and she explained to me: 'If this is what will bring joy to my mother, then this is what I want to do.' So she chose an especially beautiful Torah scroll, and six months later when it was ready, she brought it to the kibbutz's synagogue. Since then, she has stayed in touch with us several times and told me that the Torah scroll not only brought her mother peace but also connected her to the synagogue, prayers, and Judaism. She visits from time to time on Shabbat and prays, and others in the kibbutz have also begun to awaken, and the entire synagogue has returned to activity. "Perhaps it was the mother's way of influencing things from above," he adds after contemplation.<\/p>

 <\/p>

The Goal: Renew and Repair<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>

Rahamin Khavi has been involved in producing Torah scrolls, tefillin, and mezuzot for 22 years. He began as a scribe, but soon found his niche in restoring old Torah scrolls, viewing them as magical and unique. Clients who eventually purchase them often bring remarkable stories.<\/p>

"Every time used Torah scrolls came to me for repair, I couldn't help but think, 'It can't be that a Torah scroll read and used for so many years suddenly becomes worthless.' It simply didn't make sense to me, and even then, I decided I would do everything possible to renew old Torah scrolls, even if they were in a state that seemed beyond repair and deemed not worth the investment.<\/p>

This led him to work on hundreds of used Torah scrolls over the years, some recently written but worn from extensive use requiring repair, and others ancient, battered by time yet filled with unimaginable stories.<\/p>

For instance, during a visit to a moshav near Beit Shemesh, they wished to sell him four old Torah scrolls destined for genizah, one of which was a Yemenite Torah scroll in severe disrepair. "This was years ago when I still worked from home," he recalls, "I placed the scroll on a shelf and felt it was monopolizing too much space in my workspace. I constantly thought of how to clear it. Coincidentally, a friend visited, and I shared my uncertainty about what to do with this Torah scroll. We both examined it closely and then realized that it was indeed fascinating, with connected script and uniquely styled letters. We both felt there was something worth researching here.<\/p>

<\/p>

"I took the Torah scroll to Professor Zucker from the Hebrew University, and later to a specialist in letter studies from Kiryat Arba. Both claimed it was indeed a very ancient script. I then sent the scroll for carbon-14 dating at a university in the USA, where they dated it to about 1,100 years old. Even now, thinking about such a hidden treasure being on its way to genizah gives me chills. Naturally, from that moment, we gave it special treatment and invested a lot in repairs and replacing the sheets.<\/p>

Do you know anything about the history of this Torah scroll?<\/strong><\/p>

"I don't know much. Those who handed it to me said it was written in Yemen and passed down from father to son for years. Eventually, it arrived in the country during the First Aliyah, then continued to the Yemenite moshav. But even without knowing exactly who used it throughout generations, the mere thought of it accompanying Jews for over 1,000 years gives me goosebumps.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Torah with a History<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>

"People bring us a lot of Torah scrolls, and I do everything I can to repair them, as much as possible," Khavi reiterates. "Personally, I have a particular fondness for small Torah scrolls. I even have scrolls here that are only 12 centimeters. Some are beyond repair, but I keep them because they are interesting and hold special value due to their miniature size.<\/p>

Why do people write small Torah scrolls, what is their purpose?<\/strong><\/p>

"A small Torah scroll is typically written for a wealthy person or a renowned rabbi. I recently bought a very small Torah scroll from Mea Shearim, which previously belonged to Rabbi Alexander Moshe Lapidot, a very well-known rabbi in Jerusalem. As they told me, this Torah scroll was written for him over a hundred years ago, and he would regularly dance with it on Simchat Torah. Although it is damaged and in need of a thorough repair, it is fixable, and I am indeed working on it these days. Of course, it's not easy at all, as the script is very tiny.<\/p>

<\/p>

"I also have three Torah scrolls here that I received from a well-known retirement home, which was looking to renew with new Torah scrolls and transferred the old ones to me. These are scrolls from the Netherlands, one of which is small and the others are large, all with very impressive writing that resembles ancient Spanish. This is unique to the period of the Spanish expulsion, and indeed it turns out these are scrolls that were preserved from those days. It's true that the letters were already blurred, and renewing the Torah scroll required going over them letter by letter. Perhaps during that time, I could have written a new scroll. But the satisfaction of being able to restore a Torah scroll not used for years and renew it outweighs all the great difficulty.<\/p>

Even a Torah scroll from India reached Khavi. "I traveled there specifically to bring it," he confesses, "When I asked to hear about it, they told me it was donated years ago for the elevation of a young man’s soul who had passed away. But when I examined it, I clearly understood it did not appear to have been written in India. It simply didn't fit with the style of writing and parchment that were in the country during those years. It matched more with the script that was in Syria – with large, beautiful writing and beautiful quill movement by expert scribes. We tried to investigate further, and it turned out it was brought to India by Halabi merchants who emigrated for trade and settled there. It was fascinating to connect the dots and understand the whole story.<\/p>

 <\/p>

The Scroll that Saved Lives<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>

Story follows story, and Khavi recalls another instance: "Someone from the Old City once came to us and asked with great excitement for me to repair a Torah scroll. He presented the scroll to me, and I saw it was in very dire condition – the letters were faded, and the parchment was almost tearing from all directions, and there were also places that were really problematic from a Halachic perspective. After a few minutes of looking it over, I asked the man, 'Why do you want to repair this Torah scroll?' and I also explained to him that the repairs would be very costly.<\/p>

"'The money doesn't matter to us,' the man responded, and then shared with me one of the most incredible stories I've ever encountered – this Torah scroll was with his uncle in Sobibor extermination camp, and one day the uncle tried to escape the camp with his sister while hugging the Torah scroll. The Germans noticed his escape, and they shot at him to stop. But miraculously, the bullet hit the Torah scroll he was holding, damaging the Torah scroll but saving his uncle's life. He and his sister managed to continue escaping, and their lives were saved. After the war, the uncle immigrated to Israel with the Torah scroll, and for 70 years he refused to part with it. Now, after his passing, they requested to specifically renew this Torah scroll, and they paid a lot for it. We worked on it for many long months, and ultimately, with Hashem's help, we managed to restore and strengthen it. The work was very lengthy, and it was never certain throughout that we'd be able to finish, but this special story kept us going all the time.<\/p>

<\/p>

How many antique Torah scrolls do you have?<\/strong><\/p>

"Altogether, there are currently about 100 ancient Torah scrolls displayed, originating from all over the world – we have scrolls from all Arabic countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, and Persia, as well as Iraq and Damascus. Additionally, we have scrolls from across Europe – some large German scrolls and some tiny ones. Of these, some are kosher l'mehadrin, while others, at this stage, we have chosen not to repair unless someone comes and specifically wishes to purchase them.<\/p>

What is the value of such Torah scrolls? How high can their monetary value reach?<\/strong><\/p>

"It depends on whom you're selling to," Khavi responds. "Of course, when there's a very old Torah scroll with roots in known Jewish communities, its value can be immeasurable since, in addition to the sentiments within, it's also considered an antique artifact. But Torah scrolls from recent generations hold value mainly among collectors and people in the field. Synagogues and standard communities often prefer newer Torah scrolls and are also wary that the older ones may become invalid sooner.<\/p>

"There are also used Torah scrolls whose price is genuinely lower than new scrolls, and they have a large clientele, especially in the last two years where many minyanim and new ones have opened due to the coronavirus. Everyone knows that 'once there is a Torah scroll, there is a minyan,' there are also groups traveling or wishing to spend the holidays abroad, who turn to us and ask for used Torah scrolls which are cheaper. But it's important for me to emphasize that this doesn't refer to antique scrolls. These hold their respect in place, and they're not sold to anyone, especially not at a reduced price.<\/p>

<\/p>

 <\/p>

Letters with Souls<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>

And what do you do with the many Torah scrolls in your possession?<\/strong><\/p>

"I try to preserve them. Occasionally, researchers or various historians come here who are interested and learn many new things from them. Those who understand the field know there's a great significance to the quill movement of a scribe from that era or the style of the letters. A Torah scroll is something that teaches us a lot about our people.<\/p>

<\/p>

Isn't it hard for you to part with a Torah scroll after working on its restoration and investing so much in it?<\/strong><\/p>

"My hope when repairing a Torah scroll is to make it kosher, so people can use it. That's what I want to happen. So despite the difficulty in separation, I'm always happy when the Torah scroll is sold. Then I keep the special stories with me and pass the Torah scroll on to make room and work on additional scrolls.<\/p>

Finally, Khavi notes an interesting thing: "When I finish repairing a Torah scroll, I see, once again, an amazing phenomenon - just after it’s repaired, suddenly someone comes along wanting to buy that specific one. It can be after the scroll has sat on the shelf for years, with no one expressing interest, and suddenly, just when I finish renewing it, it catches the eye of people. The Zohar states that the holy script letters are souls, and indeed we see it here again every time – how there is a real spirit of life in the letters, and when the time comes to redeem them and return to use the Torah scroll, it simply happens, truly wondrous wonders.<\/p>