October 9, 1982, Tempio Maggiore in Rome.
On that day, many were the families present in the Synagogue for Sheminì Atzeret, a holiday where it is customary in the Roman community to give children a berachà. Between the joy that the day represents and the happiness on the children's faces, nobody could have imagined what happened.
In that same morning by the exit of the Synagogue, a commando of Palestinian terrorists fired on the crowd. Men, women and children became targets of machine gun and hand grenade. During the attack, 37 people were injured and the little Stefano Gaj Taché, aged only two, lost his life.
A few years after the dark pages of the Shoah, in particular the one of October 16th of 1943, the Jewish community of Rome had to face anti-Semitic hatred again. They were attacked only because guilty of being Jewish. The Jewish Community of Rome was shot in the heart. Even today, after 40 years, that day represents for us a dark period, a still open wound, difficult to heal.
In recent months, disturbing details have emerged about the events preceding the attack. New elements, which could, perhaps, help shed light on the attack. Now we are investigating to understand how this could have happened, why that terrible day the Italian Jews were left alone by the institutions, and who are responsible for that attack, for which no one has yet served a single day of sentence.
Stefano was only 2 years old. He never got to live his life. For this reason the Jewish Schools of Rome have decided to make him live forever through one of the most important symbols, the Sefer Torah.
אם הגיה אפי' אות אחת מעלה עליו כאילו כתבו" (מנחות ל' א:י)
As the Talmud teaches: “If he emended even a single letter of the Torah scroll, thereby completing it, it is as if he had written it in its entirety” (Menachot 30A). It is with this lesson that Benè Berith Giovani has decided to contribute to the initiative of the Jewish Schools of Roa to restore and repair a Sefer Torah in memory of Stefano Gaj Taché, which will then be donated to the Great Synagogue.
At Benè Berith Giovani, we believe that the memory of Stefano Gaj Taché should never be forgotten. Today, 40 years after that sad day, we have decided to take another step to strengthen his memory and, to do so, we ask for your help. We have decided to open a fundraiser. Everyone will have the opportunity to contribute. Every single donation, even the smallest, will be essential for the success of this project.
Tizku leMitzvot Rabot,
Benè Berith Giovani "Stefano Gaj Tachè
