LA Synagogue Takes in 23 Sifrei Torah From Shuls in Path of Raging Wildfires

( Forward.com ) A Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles has taken in Torah scrolls from other Jewish institutions that are in the path of a major fire sweeping through the city. Scrolls from Leo Baeck Temple, Stephen Wise Temple, the American Jewish University, the Skirball Cultural Center and the Milken Community Schools were relocated to Valley Beth Shalom for safekeeping. Rabbi Noah Farkas of Valley Beth Shalom said there were 23 Torah scrolls being kept at his synagogue. “It came together more or less in the moment,” Farkas told the Forward. “I woke up at 5:00 AM and the sky was orange and my house smelled like smoke. I started calling my friends to make sure they’re okay.” Rabbis told the Jewish Journal of the treacherous journeys they had to take to save the scrolls. “We went basical