As “Second Front” Threatens to Flare Up, Chabad Works Tirelessly for the Jews of Israel’s North

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Metulla, Israel, is all but deserted today.

As mortars, rocket artillery and missiles are launched by terror groups into Northern Israel, the Israeli military has evacuated border towns and has ramped up operations in the north, with thousands of armored vehicles making their way to the area. 

In Metulla, several thousand feet from the border with Lebanon, Rabbi Moshe and Bracha Leah Sasonkin have spent decades manning Chabad’s northernmost post in Israel—Chabad of Metulla, which they founded in 1990. Despite growing challenges and the evacuation of the area, Chabad of Metulla has been on the ground providing vital support. After seeing his wife and family to safety in the northern town of Afula, Rabbi Moshe Sasonkin returned to Metulla, checking in with the soldiers to see what they needed and offering them the opportunity to put on tefillin in between red alert sirens.

Since the evacuation, the Sasonkins have been in touch with community members, ensuring that they are cared for during this upheaval. They’ve also visited families who have lost loved ones to terrorist attacks. The Sasonkins received thousands of letters and cards addressed to Israel’s soldiers, and Rabbi Moshe Sasonkin plans in the coming days to distribute them to the forces defending Israel’s northern border.

Working Day and Night in the Golan

In the Golan Heights, as reserves flow in and tanks rumble toward the border, Rabbi Sholom Ber Hertzel of Chabad of the Golan Heights isn’t getting much rest. “We are here the entire day and night in the Golan, reaching out to soldiers anywhere and everywhere,” Hertzel told Lubavitch.com, speaking as he exited a shelter, following a red alert in response to suspected terrorist infiltration.

“We have a logistics center where people are bringing things and we are providing them to the soldiers. We have two food trucks to improve morale with free food; a meat truck and a dairy and pareve truck,” Hertzel detailed. The trucks circulate from base to base across the Golan Heights, offering kosher food and the joy that accompanies every visit from the “Chabadnikim,” as the shluchim are often referred to.

Soldiers line up for made-on-the-spot sandwiches and meals, and those awake at night especially appreciate the cups of freshly-brewed espresso, the beans ground on the spot.     

Chabad of the Golan is also working to provide for the soldiers beyond their physical needs, providing pairs of tefillin and putting them on together with the soldiers, providing tzitzit, gathering the soldiers to perform the mitzvah of separating challah, and generally doing their best to boost morale.

“Yes, we are outside our homes doing our shlichus, doing what’s needed right now, the entire day and night, giving whatever the soldiers need, and encouraging the Jewish Nation.”

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Jewish Children Put War Out of Mind at Camp Gan Israel — Kharkiv, Ukraine

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For children from the beleaguered city of Kharkiv, near the border with Russia in northeastern Ukraine, the sounds of war have been a part of their lives for more than 18 months. But this summer, Kharkiv’s Jewish children were able to put the trauma, pain and loss aside for a few weeks and join Camp Gan Israel — just like Jewish kids around the world do.

The Kharkiv Jewish Community — led by Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz — partnered with the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU) to overcome the practical and logistical hurdles inherent in creating a summer camp in the middle of a war zone.

Parents found out about the camp as they ventured from their homes to pick up the aid packages provided by Chabad-Lubavitch and JRNU. Children brought their friends — for many of whom this was the first time they learned about their Jewish heritage. 

The campers enjoyed two fun-filled weeks of swimming, sports, study, and crafts. They went bowling and played laser tag. They went rowing and horseback riding. They visited an amusement park and an escape room. They helped pack and deliver humanitarian aid packages for local residents. And they baked challah, prayed each day, and studied Torah.

For those few weeks, the sights and sounds of war were almost forgotten as the children enjoyed a genuine Jewish day camp experience, despite everything.

And on the last day of camp, they paused for reflection. They wrote letters to be sent to the Ohel — the gravesite of the Rebbe — asking for a blessing for peace and an end to the destruction they have witnessed. 

City Names Street “Chabad Way,” Recognizing Chabad at University of Illinois’ 20-Year-Anniversary

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When the 4,000 or so Jewish students who call the University of Illinois home walk down Armory Ave. in Champaign, Illinois, they’ll notice a new sign up among the fraternities and sororities that dot the street. 

That’s because the City of Champaign’s City Council recently voted to rename the stretch of Armory Ave. that runs past the Chabad House to “Honorary Chabad Way,” recognizing the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Living at U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, directed by Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Tiechtel. 

In the years since it was founded, the Illini Chabad Center, as it’s often referred to, has grown in leaps and bounds. Back in 2017, they opened a hospitality house for students and their families, and more recently, they opened university-affiliated Jewish student housing with a full kosher meal program as they recently purchased and moved into an expansive new building on Armory Ave., right on fraternity row.  

“We are honored by this recognition and look forward to many great things ahead,” said Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, “We are excited to welcome back the thousands of students to campus and Chabad way. As we enter our third decade, look out for many more amazing things to come! We are just beginning!”