A Symbol of Resilience
By Emma Dixon
Chabad of Greater Orlando’s Furth Torah has been through a lot in its approximately 200-yearold history. The treasured Torah has survived the Holocaust and not one, but two fires – the most recent of which took place at Chabad’s Maitland headquarters just before Rosh Hashanah.
The Torah was one of 19 that a rabbi buried near a Jewish orphanage in the town of Furth (also spelled Fuerth) in Bavaria, Germany, on the eve of Kristallnacht in 1938. Although the rabbi did not return from the concentration camps, the Torahs he buried were recovered and saved after World War II ended. One of those Torahs found a new home at Chabad’s campus just a few months ago.
Chabad of Greater Orlando was founded in 1984 by Rabbi Sholom Dubov. His son, Rabbi Dovid Dubov, was born and raised in Orlando and has led the congregation since 2021.
On September 22, 2024, fire broke out at Chabad’s campus and destroyed the sanctuary. Fortunately, no one was injured in the blaze. And as luck would have it, the Holocaust Torah – which was to be dedicated at Yom Kippur – had already been removed from the sanctuary, in part because of its large size.
“It was a miracle the Torah wasn’t lost,” notes Rabbi Dovid. “And the fact that no one was in the building at the time is incredible. I saw the fire in the sanctuary area and knew it was unlikely we’d save our other Torahs until the flames subsided. I knew we had the Holocaust Torah in the other room in the back of the building. So I asked one of the firemen to run in and get it, and he did so.”
After a firefighter retrieved the Torah, Rabbi Dovid Dubov carried it to safety.
Lieutenant Jack Young of the Seminole County Fire Department was happy to be of service.
“We kept bringing these items out and handing them over to the bystanders, and you could see the relief on their faces,” he says. “The people were very surprised that they were still undamaged.”
“As a Jewish people, we have overcome obstacles in the past, and we shall overcome this.”
The investigation into the fire is ongoing, but it appears to have been an accident. Although the sanctuary was ruined, the remaining Torahs were mostly untouched by the flames.
“The ark was opened, but other than some charring, the Torahs were not burned, which is a miracle,” says Rabbi Dovid. “It could have been a lot worse.”
A Community Rallies To Help
Pictured above and to the bottom right: In September, a fire destroyed the sanctuary at Chabad of Greater Orlando’s headquarters, which is in Maitland. Fortunately, no one was injured in the blaze.
As news of the fire spread, the local community sprang into action. The Chabad’s preschool students were housed at Gotlib Jewish Academy in Maitland for a few weeks before relocating back to Chabad’s preschool building, which was untouched during the fire.
“The community is so supportive,” says Rabbi Dovid. “Our options are open for the future and we have no long-term plan yet, but people rallied around and donations immediately started coming in. And the local news was also incredibly supportive, promoting our relocated holiday services to the community.”
The fire broke out just days before Rosh Hashanah, which meant High Holiday services could not take place in the sanctuary. Fortunately, the Hilton Garden Inn in Winter Park stepped up to offer the congregation a space to hold services.
Weekly services are now taking place next door to the sanctuary, in the preschool space. As Rabbi Dovid notes, it’s not an ideal situation because the space is small, but the congregation is making do. The timeline for reopening the original campus remains up in the air.
“It may not even make sense to rebuild on that land,” he says. “Perhaps this can be seen as an opportunity to grow and expand.” Rabbi Dovid says Chabad is also in need of legal advice and guidance as the congregation moves forward after the fire.
“We kept bringing these items out and
handing them over to the bystanders, and you could see the relief on their faces.”
“We have a wonderfully creative community,” he says, “and so I put it in their hands, in terms of the advice or help they can offer us.”
Above all, Rabbi Dovid wants to emphasize a continuing message of hope.
“As a Jewish people, we have overcome obstacles in the past, and we shall overcome this,” he says. “The resiliency of Jews as a whole – that is the true message of the Torah.”
This story was originally published in print in Winter 2024.