Australians Aim for Number 7770

Initiated by the Shluchim in Yeshivah Gedolah, the “JeWrap” campaign has taken Australia by storm. Coast to coast, Bochurim, Yungerleit and even children, are busy laying tefillin on thousands of Jews.

With a specially tailored app, a Whatsapp chat and plenty of selfies, the campaign has thousands of unaffiliated Australians wrapping Tefillin.

Exactly, 50 years ago on the 24th of Adar, the Rebbe sent the first group of Shluchim to Melbourne Australia to establish the Yeshivah Gedolah. Charged the mission of conquering Australia, the Shluchim set to work.

Today, the over 240 Shluchim that have passed through the Yeshivah Gedolah have left an indelible mark on the community, yeshivah, and school. The impact of the Yeshivah Gedolah, particularly the Shluchim, is immeasurable.

Additionally, this year marks 50 years, when, on the eve of the six-day-war, the Rebbe initiated the Tefillin campaign. Issuing marching orders calling on every Jew to involve himself in laying Tefillin on as many Jews as he possibly can. The effects of the campaign during the war and over the past 50 years are plain to see, as countless Jewish lives were transformed by this little Mitzvah.

In honor of these two milestones, Yeshivah Gedolah Shluchim Mendel Lerman and Yossi Lipskier embarked on a goal of bringing together all Anash of Australia to unite in Mivtza Tefillin, the “JeWrap” campaign. The goal is 7770 Tefillin. From Yud Tes Kislev to Yud Aleph Nissan. And as the Rebbe always demanded, the bar was set incredibly high, with a required average of over 500 Tefillin a week.

The Bochurim set to work, heading out to every corner of Melbourne on Friday afternoons, looking for one more Tefillin here, one more tefillin there. The shluchim networked with Eli Schlanger, designer and creator of the MyDuch app, and had the app tailored to monitor Australians’ progress and their Tefillin count.

The participants in the Mivtza are signed up to the app and update their numbers, and the total is automatically tallied. A special WhatsApp chat was established, where Bochurim and Yungeleit post selfies and stories of their Tefillin experiences, stories which by now could fill a book. The participants of the campaign have even managed to find a grand total of 20 Karkaftas, Jews who had never in their lives’ put on Tefillin before.

Networking with the Shluchim from all over Australia, this campaign has truly created an incredible achdus and hype amongst Australian Anash. From Perth to Brisbane, Darwin to Melbourne, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay, the “JeWrap” campaign has truly taken off. With just under five weeks to go the campaign stands at 6500 Tefillin, rapidly advancing on the goal.

Our fervent hope is that this Mivtza should truly be a fitting birthday present to our dear Rebbe and give him much nachas.