Police closed two of Hendon’s main thoroughfares to allow the torchlight procession of a new Sefer Torah to the Finchley Lane premises of Hendon’s Od Yosef Hai Synagogue.

Hundreds of people joined the parade, which was led by 14 rabbis. The guest of honour was Jerusalem scholar Rabbi Shalom Arush, who had been brought over from Jerusalem by the scroll’s donor, Asher Moses. Mr Moses and his family have given the Sefer Torah in memory of his father, Yaacov, a Sephardi synagogue chazan.

It also fulfils another step in the pledge of Mr Moses to donate an item of Judaica to every UK Sephardi congregation.

The project additionally raised £13,000 for the youth programme at Od Yosef Hai through the auctioning of the writing of the last 40 letters of the scroll.