Sunday, July 24, 2005

Mivtzoim as usual


Another story from COL this time about the mivtzoim done at the Kotel. Anyone who has been there has witnessed the wonderful work these guys do. (Click on the link for more photos)

On Thursday, 14th of Tamuz, a ceremony of the 17th Maccabiah took place at the Western Well in the presence of 3,500 Jewish athletes from all over the world. Just before the closing ceremony of the Maccabiah, the athletes chose to visit the Western wall, remnant of the Beis Hamikdash, and for many of them this was the first visit to the Kosel and their excitement was visible.

Rabbi Yosef Halperin, shliach and Chabad booth director at the Kosel greeted the athletes with a staff of volunteers, young men and bochrim, students of the Tsemach Tsedek Colel and of Maayanot in Yerushalayim. These activists immediately got to work to make sure to lay teffilin to all of these thousands of athletes. The visitors were glad to find "Chabad also here at the Kosel, just like in our state and city". A few dozen of them laid teffilin for the first time and thereby eliminated their categorization as a 'karkafta' (a head that had never donned tefillin).