Torah Completed in Kazi’s Memory

After almost 2 years of trying the old fashioned way (with appeals and mailings) to raise the $35,000 needed to write a new Torah scroll and only getting about half-way to the goal, friends of Kazi Benjamin obm decided to try something new.

“As far as I can tell, this is the first time one of these crowd-funding platforms was used for the purposes of writing a Torah,” says Mosheh Poltorak, the organizer of the campaign and a founder of Itchke’s Shtiebel, the local synagogue behind this effort.

“The response was incredible!” He continues, “many people we know contributed because of the novelty of the platform and we even got donations from people outside the community.”

The Torah was written in honor of Kazi Benjamin, a member of the synagogue who passed away in 2011 at the age of 25.

Thus far, the campaign has been on a roll, reaching 30% of it’s goal within 48 hours and hitting the $10,000 goal in less than 7 days. By utilizing online crowd-funding platform, Indiegogo, they raised $10,000 within 7 days and ended up raising $15,000 from over 120 contributors.

They are continuing to raise funds to cover the remaining $7,000 needed, with any additional funds raised to pay for religious and social events serving young adults in the area.

“By contributing to the writing of a Torah it’s as if one completed the entire thing themselves,” says Rabbi Chaim Fogelman, spiritual leader at Itchke’s Shtiebel and Director at OK Kosher Labs. “This campaign is utilizing modern technology for an ancient purpose.”

Itchke’s Shtiebel is a Crown Heights, Brooklyn based synagogue founded in 2008 to serve the religious and social needs of young-adults in the community. We’re located at 612 Maple Street and have events throughout the week, on Shabbat and holidays.

Find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/itchke?fref=ts. More information regarding the Torah campaign can be found at http://bit.ly/1avmEV9 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KazisTorah.