IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari at the event
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari at the eventCourtesy

Thousands of participants filled the Beit Menachem Synagogue in Kfar Chabad last week at the celebration marking the 19th of Kislev. The holiday, also known as Yat Kislev or Yud Tes Kislev, is celebrated by Lubavitch Hassidim and others and marks both the death of the early Hassidic master the Maggid of Mezritch, and the release of the first Rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, from prison.

The event, organized by the Kfar Chabad Council, was attended by many officials, including IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari and Maj. Gen. David Zini.

During the event, Rabbi Shlomo Yehuda Be'eri, known as the Yenuka, played the traditional Niggun of Four Stanzas on the keyboard.

'The Yenuka'
'The Yenuka'Credit: Courtesy

Another moving moment occurred when Ra'anan Levy, the father of fallen soldier Maj. Major Ilay Levy, read a chapter of Psalms for the salvation of the hostages.

The event's guest of honor was Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, the Chabad emissary in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, who spoke about his work during the war and evacuating the children of the local orphanage to Ashkelon.

The event was also attended by several ministers including Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, Welfare Minister Yaakov Mergi, Minister of Heritage Amihai Eliyahu, and Galilee and Negev Development Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf.

Chief Rabbis Kalman Ber and David Yosef also addressed the crowd and the evening was accompanied by classic Chabad tunes played by Moshe Mona Rosenbloom and Nemuel Haroush.