Mass Celebration on Avenue M

Photos: Alex Gorokhov

The streets were packed with some three thousand men, women and children who came to join in the Lag B’Omer celebrations at Mayan Yisroel, located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn.

The parade started from East 31st and Ave M, with a marching band and dancing clowns. Rabbi Boruch Sholom Blesofsky, Mayan Yisroel’s new youth Rabbi, practiced with the boys drumming band for weeks before and prepared with the kids banners for them to march with.

The roads were blocked off by the 63rd precinct, enabling everyone to march safely to the avenue outside Mayan Yisroel where the program took place.

Rabbi Yoseph Vigler introduced the program of buying every Jewish child a letter in the communal Sefer Torah written exclusively for children under Bar or Bas Mitzvah, one letter each, in the Old City of Yerushalayim. Over a hundred parents signed up their children for this special mitzvah!

Rabbi Yitzy Erps entertained the children with a story of Emunah and mentioned how beautiful it was to see such achdus with so many people gathered together.

The entertainment of the event was the stunt roller-bladers. They set up several ramps in the middle of the street and wowed the crowd with their hair raising and incredible jumps.

Singers Benny Friedman and Dovid Stein had the crowd on their feet, together with Mendy Worch, Shea Rubenstein and Nachas who sang as everyone danced around Rashbi’s fire. The simcha was palpable and many commented on how this was the best Lag B’Omer event they have ever been to.

Thanks to Dovid Stein and the Mayan Yisroel crew for putting it all together.