NEW JERSEY

Members of a historic New Jersey synagogue that was destroyed in a fire last month gathered on Sunday to bury damaged sacred scrolls and books.

The members of Congregation Poile Zedek in New Brunswick buried nine Torahs and hundreds of religious books.

An Oct. 23 fire destroyed the synagogue, which opened in 1923 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. About 100 families belong to the Orthodox Ashkenazic synagogue.

Jewish law says the objects must be buried if they are no longer in acceptable condition.

The Torahs were placed in ceramic pots and then buried. One Torah was saved after the fire.

No one was injured in the fire, which officials say appeared to be accidental.

- AP