CTeen members and affiliates from around the world joined together on Sunday evening in a “Solidarity With Israel” conference call that drew more than 1,000 participants. It was the latest in a string of programs geared to increase morale as terror attacks continue in Israel, offering support, advice and inspiration to young people around the world.
Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch—the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement—opened the conference call with a “Good night, good evening, good morning and good afternoon” to everyone listening in from six different time zones. His subsequent call to action encouraged the teens to take on new mitzvahs to show their support for Israel and their brethren overseas.
“These brutal acts of terror will not break our spirit. We stand together stronger than ever before,” stated Rabbi Kotlarsky. “United together, we will illuminate the cloud of darkness that has afflicted our dear brethren in the Holy Land. We’ll transform night into a bright tomorrow for all of ‘Am Yisrael.’
“While we do not fight with AK47s, our strength is in adding another mitzvah,” continued Kotlarsky. “Our might is by inviting a friend to Torah class. We bring light into this world through random acts of kindness and unified prayer.”
He then invited Assaf Vindish of CTeen Chabad of Or Akiva-Caesarea in Israel to lead the recitation of Psalm 130. Afterwards, Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet of London, England, shared his thoughts about defending Israel during this time.
“I encourage each and every one of you to continue acting as a positive advocate for Israel in your schools, with your friends and on social media,” he said. “You can make a world of a difference—literally.”
‘Adding More Light’
CTeen alumnus Gary Friedlander, who recently enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, joined the call. Speaking from his army base, he described the feeling of unity in Israel and how that unity can be channeled from every corner of the world: “When terror strikes, the nation comes together—everyone comes together and helps one another.”
Friedlander, originally from Atlanta, acknowledged that “there’s a helpless feeling from people living outside of Israel about what they can do and how can they help. And I know over here I can help out physically, but I’d like to tell you guys what you can do to help out spiritually. And I think that’s really coming together as a Jewish nation—doing mitzvot, helping one another, loving one another.”
The soldier recalled a special memory from his participation in the annual CTeen International Shabbaton in New York, which takes place in the winter. “One thing I really noticed was seeing Jews from all over the world with all different types of backgrounds coming together and loving one another, simply being Jews together and enjoying Shabbat together,” he said.
Mollie Jakofsky, another CTeen alum from the Chicago area, is currently learning in a seminary in Israel. She echoed Friedlander’s words, adding that doing mitzvahs helps bolster and inspire the people living in Israel.
“In Israel, when bad things happen, we don’t retaliate with weapons the way our enemies do,” she said. “We fight back by adding more light into the world, by performing more mitzvot. I encourage you all to help increase the light in the world—take on a new mitzvah, learn a new prayer, light Shabbat candles. If we focus our actions on the positive ... Israel will continue to stand proud.”
Armed With Knowledge
During closing remarks, Rabbi Moshe Rapoport, a CTeen director at the Peltz Center for Jewish Life in Mequon, Wis., put the current situation in Israel in a very personal perspective, saying “the soldiers in Israel aren’t all 35-year-olds. They are your age.”
The conference call ended on a poignant and deeply inspirational note with a live hookup to an Israeli army base, where soldiers had burst into song, proclaiming the timeless words: “Am Yisrael Chai!”
CTeen member Syndey Austin, 17, hung up after the call feeling a renewed sense of purpose. “I’ve read a lot of hateful comments and posts about Israel on my Facebook feed, and I felt pretty helpless,” she acknowledged. “I now feel a lot more confident in my support of Israel and can’t wait to do what I can to show it even though I live so far away.”
“A lot of what we read about Israel in the media is a distortion of the reality and very often contains facts that are taken out of context,” added Rabbi Dovid Weinbaum, youth director at the Dix Hills Jewish Chai Center in Dix Hills, N.Y., and director of CTeen in West Suffolk County, N.Y. “By providing our teens with the truth, we are arming them with knowledge that will empower them to stand up for Israel’s right to existence as the Jewish homeland.”
For more news, opinion, inspiration, advice and first-person articles on the October 2015 Wave of Terror in Israel, visit the special Chabad.org section here.
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