Chanukah Joy for ‘Lone Soldiers’

Photos: Mendy Hechtman

Well over a thousand people came to salute lone Soldiers on Motzei Shabbos.

Chabad of Talbiya, directed by Rabbi Eli and Chana Canterman hosted over a hundred soldiers from Chayal el Chayal center run by R’ Mordy Botnik and Ari Abramowitz.

The center sponsored a top notch music band – The Portnoy brothers who motivated the crowd to sing and dance for over two hours.

The soldiers reveled in the candle lighting, dancing and enjoyed the doughnuts supplied all evening. When the dancing ended, Chabad Talbiya led them to the rooftop of one of the apartment owners on Mamilla Avenue generously provided for use by Chayal el Chayal, Emile and Orly Mimran, where the soldiers were treated to a barbeque and drinks with a view of the old city and Jerusalem surrounding them unto the wee hours of the morning.

“Tonight, we were not ‘lone’,” expressed one soldier with emotion. “We felt appreciated and celebrated by so many fellow sisters and brothers who came to show their support, that we felt like soldiers in one huge, united family.”

The ‘Lone soldiers’ evening was kindly sponsored by the Glowinsky family of Toronto in honor and in prayer for the safety of all soldiers in Israel who risk their lives for Am Yisrael.