JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Thousands of people entered Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem overnight Tuesday and took part in a ceremony marking the Hachnasas Sefer Torah (dedication of a Torah scroll) at the site.
The Torah scroll, donated in memory of the fallen and deceased students of Yeshivat “Od Yosef Chai,” was brought into the compound accompanied by dancing and singing, under heavy security provided by IDF forces.
The event was attended by rabbis, public figures, and bereaved families. Among those present were Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Haim Goren, the heads of Yeshivat “Od Yosef Chai,” Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira and Rabbi Yosef Elitzur, and Homesh Yeshiva head Rabbi Elishama Cohen.
עוד נשוב לשם: אלפים השתתפו הלילה בהכנסת ספר תורה במתחם קבר יוסף שבלב שכם לרגל חודש אדר. ספר התורה נתרם על ידי תורם שביקש להשאר אנונימי, לזכר הנופלים והנפטרים מתלמידי ישיבת עוד יוסף חי.
יוסי דגן, ראש מועצת שומרון אמר בטקס כתיבת האותיות: “אנחנו צועדים https://t.co/g0jKZM9qiR pic.twitter.com/PCD8mTN1oW
— 🇮🇱 baron28 (@Baron28Baron286) February 24, 2026
Before entering Shechem, a ceremony for writing the final letters of the Torah scroll was held at the study hall of Yeshivat “Od Yosef Chai”, the place where the students studied for nearly two decades until the tomb was abandoned during the Second Intifada.
Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira, head of the yeshiva, addressed the gathering and emphasized the connection between Yosef and the Torah: “Joseph was a ‘wise son’ who studied Torah with our forefather Yaakov. Bringing in the Torah scroll today is a declaration that the Torah is returning to Shechem. We hope we will merit returning the yeshiva to its natural place.”
Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Haim Goren added: “Joseph said, ‘It is my brothers that I seek.’ We ask that the power Joseph had to reconcile with his brothers after such great hatred be granted to us, so that we may unite the entire people of Israel, in Tel Aviv, in Samaria, and everywhere.”
MK Zvi Sukkot, who leads the parliamentary lobby advocating a return to Joseph’s Tomb, stated: “The time has come to correct the injustice of Joseph’s sale in our generation and to return permanently to this holy site.”
The Samaria Regional Council head concluded: “We are taking another significant step toward a full return to Jewish presence in Shechem. We say to G-d: we will do our part, You do Yours. This Torah scroll will be placed temporarily at the yeshiva in Yitzhar, because we will return here together with it.”