By COLlive reporter
When Grafton Thomas stormed the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg of Monsey, NY, and began stabbing participants at a Chanukah celebration, the first call for help was to 911.
The second call was to Chaverim of Rockland, the volunteer emergency services organization that was founded in 1999.
Hearing that a man was stabbing Jews with an 18-inch machete, Chaverim coordinator Yossi Margareten sprang into action and volunteers arrived on the scene shortly after the attacker fled, Tablet reported.
“The first thing we did was work together to keep everybody calm,” Margareten recalled of the chaotic scene. “We also helped the Ramapo Police Department gather information from the witnesses and victims.”
On Sunday, Margareten headlined the annual evening of appreciation of Chaverim of Rockland County to thank their volunteer members for their dedication.
The guest of the honor was Rabbi Rottenberg, who leads Congregation Netzach Yisroel near his home in Monsey. He shared words of Torah and chizzuk.
The evening’s speakers were Rabbi YY Jacobson, the renowned lecturer who is also a resident of Monsey, and Rabbi Duddy Farkash, founder of Chabad of Olympia in Monsey, who thanked the Chaverim members for their selfless work to help others.
Margareten was praised for his service and dedication to helping those in need 24 hours a day. The members of Chaverim handled over 31,000 calls for assistance in the past year, including 183 Search and Rescue missions.
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