Simchat Torah marks the one-year anniversary of the horrific massacre that took the lives of over 1,800 Jews in Israel last Simchat Torah - Oct. 7th, 2023. Lubavitch on the Palisades' memorial event will be on October 24th at 7 pm - Simchat Torah 5785.
In preparation for the upcoming yartzeit, we invite you to take part in a powerful community initiative to honor the memories of those lives lost on 10/7 – Simchat Torah 5784, and in its aftermath. It's called Project 10.7.
Project 10.7 calls on our community to seize the opportunity to transform darkness into light by performing 10 mitzvot, 7 times, in honor of 10 souls. 10 souls have been designated to our community to do mitzvot in honor of, and together with the 500+ shuls around the world who are joining this initiative, (each designated with 10 specific souls), our mitzvot will create a most powerful and everlasting wave of resilience, light, and unity in memory of those we lost.
Our mitzvah commitments will be tracked online and shared with the families of these 10 holy souls, bringing them strength and comfort.
Please go to onemitzvah.org/lubavitch-on-the-palisades to choose your mitzvah and start adding your light.
On Simchat Torah, a beautiful Honor Board will be displayed in the shul, recognizing all who took part in honoring the 10 souls designated to our community.
May our collective efforts help to honor those we’ve lost and elevate their souls.
Wishing you and your loved ones a Shana Tovah, filled with peace, light, and renewed hope, and may all of Am Yisrael be signed and sealed in the Book of Life.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Mordechai and Malkie Shain
Rabbi Yitzchak and Naomi Gershovitz
Rabbi Yossi and Bassi Katz
How can we help?
As Jews, our physical wellbeing is intrinsically connected with our spiritual well-being. Adding in acts of goodness and kindness, prayer, and Torah learning are the fundamental ways we can bring physical safety and protection to our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. What you can do:
1. Add in Tefillah (Prayer): Say these chapters of Tehillim (Psalms) daily for the safety of Eretz Yisrael: 20, 22, 69, 122, 150. Additionally, tehillimlechayal.org provides the names of soldiers and a chapter of Psalms you can say for their safety.
2. Give Tzedakah: Give extra tzedakah each day. An opportune time is before reciting the above chapters of Tehillim. (A fund has been created by community members. 100% of the donations are being distributed to various IDF units throughout Israel. To donate, click here.)
3. Add in Torah: Add in daily Torah study for the safety and security of Eretz Yisrael. https://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/default_cdo/jewish/Daily-Study.htm
4. Take on a mitzvah for the safety and protection of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. Specific mitzvot include: Tefillin, lighting Shabbat candles, having mezuzot on all the doorways of your home and business, Ahavat Yisrael (loving our fellow Jew), Chinuch (educating our children in the Torah way), filling our homes with Jewish books, eating Kosher, Taharat Hamishpacha, and acquiring a letter in a Torah scroll for every family member.
1,000,000 mitzvot are being collected for Israel. Join the army and add your mitzvah here: onemitzvah.org/israel.
5. Nurture Your Faith: Amid all crises, the faith and knowledge that G‑d is with us and protects us is what helps us prevail time and again. Reach into yourself to find your innate faith. Learn about it. Speak to your family and friends about it. Gather them around your dining room table at home or the water cooler at work, and speak about our faith in G‑d and His bond with every one of us. Engender confident trust that He will guard us, and especially in His holy land.
Reach out to friends and family in Israel, or even to strangers on Facebook. Tell them that you are one with them, about the mitzvahs you’re doing in their honor, and that you are sure that they will prevail.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are here for you.
May G‑d hear our prayers and may we know of no more pain and suffering. May the mitzvot we take on today usher in the era of everlasting peace and goodness - the time of Moshiach - when nations will live in peace and harmony and we will serve G‑d with joy and security.
