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Cottage Grove, Minn.

Twin Cities Jewish school investigates theft of Torah

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(AP) A handwritten Torah was stolen from the one-year-old Yeshiva High School of the Twin Cities, authorities said.

"We are extremely, extremely saddened and distraught by it," said Rabbi Moshe Weiss, the school's director of development. "The Torah is the fabric of Judaism."

The 15-inch-wide scroll, called a Sefer Torah and containing the five books believed to have been given to Moses by God, was donated to the school. It was believed to have been stolen around Sept. 30 when someone entered the school after breaking a window, though the theft wasn't discovered until last Tuesday because school had been on break for the Jewish High Holidays.

While other items, such as electronic equipment, were also taken, police and school leaders believe the thief or thieves targeted the Torah and knew of its significance.

No arrests have been made, police investigator Greg Malcolm said.

The school's roughly 40 students and student teachers were scheduled to resume classes Tuesday. For their next service Thursday, school leaders probably will take up offers from area rabbis and synagogues to borrow their spare Torahs, Weiss said.

If the stolen Torah doesn't turn up, it could cost the school as much as $40,000 and take up to a year to be permanently replaced, he said. School leaders have begun asking for donations to fund a new or used Torah.