Hundreds of members of the Queens community in New York gathered in the Or HaHaim Yeshiva (Torah academy) for a special prayer Saturday night, asking for the safe and speedy return of kidnapped teens Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha'ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19).
The Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Doniel Lander, opened the evening with the call of several leading rabbis and religious figures across the globe to dedicate an hour of collective Torah learning before Shabbat for the boys, and for women to bring in the Shabbat a few minutes early and light extra candles for the boys.
The community then read Tehilim (Psalms) in unison in an emotional outpouring of prayer for the teens.
The prayer rally was organized by CHAZAQ, an outreach organization local to Queens, NY. Organizers of the event praised the show of Jewish unity at the gathering.