Great excitement has been felt since the early morning hours in the town of Tenafly, New Jersey, hometown of the abducted soldier Edan Alexander, son of Yael, who is expected to be released today from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
In a central plaza of the town, a large Shacharis minyan was held this morning, organized by the local Shliach Rabbi Yitzchak Gershovitz and the Shliach in the nearby town of Closter, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Gluckowsky, with the participation of hundreds of Jews from across the area.
The minyan took place very early in the morning due to prior information indicating that Alexander was expected to be released at 12 noon Israel time.
After the prayer, the crowd gathered to watch live broadcasts from Israel through various media outlets. A tefillin stand was set up on site, and many Jewish men rolled up their sleeves and were moved to put on tefillin, in merit of all the hostages.
Edan himself, a graduate of Chabad institutions in Tenafly, New Jersey, is well known in the local community, who have taken his story to heart and have been praying for him and performing good deeds on his behalf for the past year and a half.
The local Chabad Shluchim, led by Rabbi Mordechai Shain and Rabbi Yitzchak Gershovitz, have maintained close contact with the family and have undertaken various initiatives for his merit and in efforts toward his release. Just two weeks ago, for example, a special challah bake took place with the participation of Edan’s mother, Yael.
Jews are amazing