Iranian missile fragment found lodged in Torah scroll at symbolic passage

When an Iranian missile hit a synagogue in Beit Shemesh on Sunday, causing death and destruction, a piece of shrapnel was discovered lodged in a Torah scroll in a very pertinent place.

The ballistic missile killed nine people sheltering in an area under the synagogue and injured dozens more, as well as taking out at least four apartment buildings and causing extensive damage to buildings in the area. While clearing through the rubble, a Torah scroll was found with a shard of metal stuck into “Parashat Zachor. Here is what it says:

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget. (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)

Fragments of an Iranian missile in the Torah scrolls at the synagogue that was hit today in Beit Shemesh. One of them—exactly at the *Parashat Zakhor* section. pic.twitter.com/dyI1pomW3W

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) March 1, 2026

In addition to the regular weekly Torah portions read in synagogues, there are special readings for holidays. On the Shabbat just before the Feast of Purim, the extra reading is called “Zachor” which means “remember.” It tells the people of Israel to remember what Amalek did to them, and was read in synagogues all over the world last Saturday – the very day Israel launched Operation Lion’s Roar, striking right at the heart of the Islamic Regime and taking out multiple leaders.

Wicked Haman from the story of Esther was a descendant of King Agag the Amalekite, and a reminder of the consequences of failing to blot out the people of Amalek as God instructed. Now a new version of Haman the Amalekite has just been eliminated: Ayatollah Khamenei and his obsession with wiping Israel off the map has himself been wiped out in the operation that started on Shabbat Zachor.

In addition to the special parasha (Torah portion), there is also a Zachor “haftorah” reading to go with it: 1 Samuel 15:2-34, which tells how God tells Samuel to command King Saul to destroy the people of Amalek, and how he fails to finish the job. Interestingly, not only is Haman related to Amalek in the story of Purim, but Mordecai is from the tribe of Benjamin and related to King Saul’s father, Kish. The book of Esther is like another chance for Saul’s descendant to do what he failed to accomplish all those years before.

In the Deuteronomy passage, God warns the people of Israel twice about the people of Amalek, not only saying “remember” but also “do not forget.” 

The extraordinary sight and the irony of a fragment from an Iranian missile, sent from Persia, where the story of Purim took place 2,500 years ago, was not lost on Jewish people all over the world, and a picture of the scroll is doing the rounds on social media to the amazement of many. However, not everyone was so impressed. 

A man named Ariel commented in response to a post on X by Amit Segal, “Much as I like a good siman [sign], aren’t all the Torah scrolls rolled to Zachor this week?” 

To be fair, Ariel has a point. But then again, is it a pure God-incidence that the campaign launched against Israel’s arch enemies happened right before Purim on Shabbat Zachor? Or was it a sign that Israel has remembered not to forget?