Updated on Sept. 19
Chabad of San Francisco is reeling from an overnight break-in and burglary at its Sutter Street location, in which roughly $16,000 worth of ritual items were stolen, according to Senior Rabbi Moshe Langer.
The Torah scrolls were untouched, but six sets of tefillin, three tallits and a tzedakah box with an unknown amount of money were taken, Langer said.
A set of tefillin, which is usually hand crafted, consists of leather straps and two boxes containing Torah passages handwritten onto parchment. Worn during morning prayers, a set of tefillin generally costs $450 to $1,800 but can be sold for much more. Langer said some of the tefillin sets stolen cost around $2,600.
Jonathan Chaet, a regular congregant at Chabad of SF, said he was the first to arrive at synagogue for morning prayers on Thursday around 6:30 a.m. He noticed that a lockbox containing a shared key was missing and that a gate protecting the front door was slightly ajar. Chaet then contacted Langer.
“It was a very unnaturally strange way to start the morning,” Chaet said.
Chaet decided to enter the center, he said, and noticed that a cabinet door was open. The curtain in front of the Torah scrolls inside the ark was pulled aside, but the Torah scrolls were in place.
According to Langer, around two hours later two street cleaners found the lock box across the street from the Chabad center with the main compartment smashed open.
Chabad of SF has been at its Sutter Street site in downtown San Francisco for 10 years. It’s located between Nob Hill, an upscale neighborhood, and the Tenderloin, a neighborhood with high rates of drug use, homelessness and property crime.
Langer told J. that he has witnessed a lot of crime nearby over the years, but the Chabad itself was broken into only once previously, a few years ago.
“It was just ransacked, really messed up, and they weren’t looking for stuff. I think they were here for a longer period of time.” Langer said about the previous incident. “This time they were in and out, just trying to find stuff of value.”
Chabad’s tzedakah box, located on a table to the left of the front door, was stolen. Langer said he didn’t know how much money was in it at the time.
“We’re very lucky that there wasn’t more damage and more theft,” Langer said. “I think these people were probably on foot, and they didn’t have a real way to transport big items. I don’t think they even knew what they were taking.”
Chaet said he discovered that the tefillin sets and prayer shawls belonging to Chabad Rabbi Shmulik Friedman and his son were among those missing.
Their stolen tefillin sets have sentimental value.
“My son just had his bar mitzvah in June, and he got his tefillin from my dad. He brought it specially from Israel,” said Friedman, whose stolen tefillin was also given to him on his bar mitzvah 27 years ago. “They’ve been through a lot. They’ve been specially refurbished to like-new condition. It was beautiful.”
Around 7:40 a.m., Langer began to drive around the neighborhood, hoping to find the missing items on the street. He also went to the police station to file a report, and 2 1/2 hours later met up with police officers outside the Chabad center.
Officers spoke to neighboring businesses, including Buddha Bliss Bodywork & Wellness, a massage studio located directly above Chabad, to request access to its security camera footage. Chabad of SF doesn’t have its own security cameras.
“We need the security [cameras]. There’s no question about it. But we need some sponsors,” Langer said. Right now “we’re trying to put the High Holy Days together,” including covering the costs of programming and services.
The San Francisco Police Department has no evidence that the break-in was a hate crime, according to an email from Public Information Officer Paulina Henderson. Any relevant information can be reported to SFPD via phone at 415-575-4444 or via text to TIP411 with “SFPD” at the beginning of the message.
Chabad is seeking donations to help replace the stolen items. As of publication, the center has raised more than $5,400.
A congregant has also set up a GoFundMe page to pay for cameras and other security measures.