At the beginning of the week, a unique and emotional operation took place in Gaza, involving the distribution of 101 pairs of tefillin in honor of the 101 hostages still held by Hamas.
The initiative was led by the heads of the "Ohel Yosef and Baruch Tuxor" community from Queens, New York, Rabbi Avner Yunayev, the community rabbi, and the community president, Moshe Yan.
In a short time, the two raised tens of thousands of dollars to purchase 101 pairs of high-quality tefillin.
Earlier this week, the tefillin were distributed to soldiers in Gaza, who were very pleased with the initiative and thanked the Jewish community leaders for the spiritual lift and the moral support that is so crucial during these times. "Like the people in Israel, we also eagerly await the release of the hostages. We hope that through the soldiers' prayers with the tefillin we provided, the gates of heaven will open and our prayer to see all the hostages and captives return home before Rosh Hashanah, will be fulfilled soon," Rabbi Yunayev concluded, summarizing Operation 101 of the Jewish Community of Queens.
The community has donated equipment to soldiers, vests, food, "spiritual support" such as tefillin and talitot, and school supplies for displaced children. "We have always had a very warm relationship with Israel. It was clear to us that we could not stand by while our brothers were fighting for their lives, and we immediately mobilized to help in any way possible," describes Rabbi Avner Yunayev.
But alongside the "physical help," it was important to the community leaders to contribute in a way that would sanctify G-d's name and specifically to help bridge the growing divide within the nation that was escalating prior to the outbreak of the war. "It pained us deeply to see our brothers fighting among themselves before the war erupted. Especially during these days of deepening division among parts of the nation and the open discourse about a 'religious war' in Israel, a unique project like the one we undertook can bring sanctification of G-d's name and a much-needed rapprochement among hearts. We felt we had to act and bring hearts closer together," describes Rabbi Avner Yunayev, reflecting on the activities of the past months with a focus on the tefillin distribution operation last week. "We believe that especially in this month of mercy and forgiveness, such a project has the ability to bring together different parts of the nation and increase unity and solidarity among brothers," Rabbi Yunayev emphasized.