A prayer and solidarity rally for Israel led by Rabbi Shmuel Butman of the Lubavitch Youth Organization was held Tuesday in Manhattan.
The event was the culmination of “A Day of Good Deeds,” which began with a Mitzvah Tank Parade which departed from 770 Eastern Parkway and drove through Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The event, which was covered by local news media, began with prayers for those held hostage, murdered, wounded and displaced during the recent attacks against Israel by Hamas.
The event promoted a campaign of mitzvahs, championed by the Rebbe, in previous wars in Israel. As the Rebbe taught, Mitzvahs provide spiritual protection and serve to bring more light and goodness into a dark world. The Mitzvahs in the campaign include women lighting Shabbat candles, men wrapping tefillin, affixing mezuzahs, giving charity, and attending Torah classes.
Earlier in the day, “Mitzvah Tanks” paraded from Brooklyn to Manhattan and were stationed at over 15 points around the city, as part of the campaign to spread light and good deeds amid the ongoing war in Israel.
Rabbi Shmuel Butman, the director of the Lubavitch Youth Organization, commented on the initiative, stating, “Tefilin is our best response to what’s going on in Eretz Yisroel. It’s more than just a physical act; it’s a spiritual armor, a beacon of hope. This is precisely what the Rebbe would instruct us to do in times like these.”
