Machne Israel — the social services branch of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement — has announced a new initiative that will provide grants to three Chabad centers for the purchase and outfitting of three “Mitzvah Tanks.”
The Mitzvah Tank came into use in the early 1970s, and has since become a familiar fixture in many cities, offering Jews the opportunity to participate in a mitzvah on the go. Today these mobile homes are synonymous with Chabad-Lubavitch and its goal to provide Jews everywhere with access to and the opportunity for Jewish engagement.
The three winners selected from scores of qualifying applications via a randomized lots process will each receive $18,000 toward the purchase and outfitting of a Mitzvah Tank are:
- Rabbi Yaakov and Tiferes Cahnman – Rural Northeastern AZ, USA
- Rabbi Yisroel and Sarah Bernath – Montreal, QC, Canada
- Rabbi Mendel and Musya Shemtov – Montevideo, Uruguay
“We are so blessed to have the opportunity to build a Mitzvah Tank which will, G-d willing, bring much light and joy throughout Arizona,” said Rabbi Yaakov Cahnman.
Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, who spearheaded the establishment of the initiative, congratulated the winners, wishing them success with their new vehicle that will empower them to bring the Rebbe’s mitzvah campaigns and much more to Jews living off the grid.
Machne Israel established the Keren Mamosh initiative — which is sponsoring this program — in the days following Gimmel Tammuz 5754 to strengthen Chabad-Lubavitch institutions and advance the Rebbe’s mission. For more than three decades, it has supported initiatives that bring that vision to life.
To learn more and to contribute to Keren Mamosh, visit www.Magbis.org/keren-mamosh.
Related Articles
Fred Kanevsky
Dear friends,
Unfortunately, daily information around current anti-semitism brings to us more and more depressing news. We, the immigrants/escapees from communist Soviet Union and European countries, learned by our skin how this hateful sentiment and movement starts and what it comes to.
Nowadays Jew is proud of his ancient culture, free of the dark fears and inferiorities of the ghetto and fully capable of meeting Jewish haters on equal terms.
In the beginning of last century there was a wave of pogroms in Ukraine and Russia.
Ze’ev Jabotinsky organized of Jewish self-defense Legion, which fought, suppressed and stopped pogroms, proved to be practical and sufficient Jewish self-defense. As a historic example we need to reopen the book on Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the ideological bedrock and creator of Jewish Legion, Betar and Hagana.
To fight current antisemitism, we need to establish Jewish Defense Militia (JDM) in every Jewish community, in every synagogue and every Yeshiva, around every Jewish civil organization. Of course, the structure, purpose and methods of activities should be coordinated with legal authorities and organizations, especially local police, and local communities. Members of JDM can be trained for self-defense (for example, Krav Maga) and by veterans of IDF. All JDM should cooperate with each other in different community and different cities and even countries.
Only physical fight can stop attacks on the Jews.