Ahavat Shalom, under the leadership of Rabbi Eliyahu Hakakian, was established about two and a half years ago by a group of Iranian bnei Torah, alumni of Ner Yisroel, who were living in the Pickwick area and were seeking to establish a makom tefillah near their homes where they could impart the rich Sephardi mesorah to their children.  After renting space from the Meyerberg Senior Center, located on the corner of Clarks Lane and Fallstaff Road, and asking Rabbi Hakakian to serve as their Rav, the shul has became well established and has enjoys much hatzlachah since its inception.

As director of the program for Iranian  talmidim of Yeshivas Ner Israel, Rabbi Hakakian feels privileged to have been the mentor of many members of Ahavat Shalom for the past twenty years, and now to be serving as their Rav.

The shul's numbers continued to grow, and the kehillah members determined that the time was ripe to raise funds for their very own sefer Torah, in place of the borrowed sifrei Torah that had been used until that point.  With much siyatta diShmaya, a successful campaign, culled from large and small donations from various shul and community members, their dream finally came true with the recent completion of the sefer Torah.

The final kesivos haosiyos took place at Kehillas Kol Torah, with the participation of several community Rabbanim, and members of the hanhalah of Ner Yisroel,  including Harav Aharon Feldman, shlita, Rosh Yeshivah. Also present were several members of the Neuberger family, whose father, Harav Naftali Neuberger, zt"l, was moser nefesh to save Iranian Jewry and and helped assure that they would continue in the path of the Torah. Harav Neuberger would surely have reaped much nachas from seeing how the Iranian kehillah has blossomed and developed.

Following the completion of the Torah, Rabbi Hakakian movingly recited the brachah of Shehecheyanu,  and then addressed the gathering, expressing his hakaras hatov to the Ribbono shel Olam for bringing the kehillah to this day. He recounted the history of the shul, and its establishment as a place to carry on the Sephardi minhagim, established with the support of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Rabbanim. "You should continue learning and growing, with the chizuk and encouragement of the Rabbanim, sharing the avodah of the Sephardi kehillos, and addressing the needs of the community with shalom and achdus, and be zocheh to go to Eretz Yisrael, bimheirah biyameinu.

The sefer Torah was then escorted down the block, in its exquisite silver casing typical of Sephardi sifrei Torah, amidst lively dancing and spirited singing, to its new home inside the aron kodesh at 3101 Fallstaff Road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Content courtesy of Hamodia