Mitzvos Honor 3 Murdered Teens

By Adam Nesenoff

This week a man put on Tefillin with us by our Mitzvah tank along a main street in Boston solely because of the blasting music that we were playing. He came right up to us and said, “I am Jewish and I will put on Tefillin with you if you turn off the music.”

Done deal. We turned off the music and he put on Tefillin.

We just completed the first leg of the Mitzvah tank in memory of Gedalya journey. Today we are in Crown Heights preparing for Gimmel Tammuz.

Upon hearing the horrible news about the murdered Israeli teenagers, we have decided to make the Mitzvah tank also in their memory.

Baruch Hashem in just a few days in New England, so far, we have gotten over 100 Tefillins, forty of which were Karkaftas. As I tell people on the trip about what happened to Gedalya (and now also the three teenagers), that it was horrible, however I am not looking for condolences, I am seeking proactiveness- something positive that we can do in their memory. An extra Mitzvah to add light into the world to help fight the evil.

Just yesterday I put Tefillin on with a boy who was an artist in Boston on the main street. After saying Shema I always encourage people to take “10 seconds” to say a private prayer. He did so and afterwards said that it was very powerful for him. He then informed us that this past month he has encountered many tragedies and just last week he, for the first time in his life, considered suicide. Though he did not commit suicide he revealed to us a very deep and large cut across his chest that he had made instead. He told us, though, that during his moment of silence he had promised to himself (basically made a hachlata) to not cause harm to himself anymore and to not continue in that direction but rather to move forward positively. He was beyond grateful for our visit. We all parted in tears. (His picture is not included below)

That was just one guy. Through the crazy hashgacha protis of the traffic, missed turns, late starts and lack of parking, we had met this yid and tangibly changed and preserved his life. Since then I have been in touch with him.

G-d Willing the last two weeks of the trip should be just as successful as the first part and each mitzvah done will be lielui nishmas Gedalya as well as Eyal, Naftali and Gilad.

We should be zoche that with each mitzvah we will also bring closer the coming of Moshiach so that we can see all four bochurim begashmius now. Amen.

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