Throughout the night of Gimmel Tammuz, tens of thousands streamed to the Rebbe’s Ohel. Families and individuals, men, women, and children—Chabad Chassidim and Yidden from all backgrounds—entered one by one with awe and reverence, stepping into the holy tziyun.
As Shabbos ended and the holy day of Gimmel Tammuz began—the 31st yahrzeit of the Rebbe, falling this year on the exact same calendar setting as the first, Motzaei Shabbos Kodesh—tens of thousands began streaming to the Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens.
Families and individuals, men, women, and children—Chabad Chassidim and Yidden from all backgrounds—entered one by one with awe and reverence, stepping into the holy tziyun. Each person whispered their personal tefillos, placed their pidyon nefesh atop the ever-growing pile, and moved along to allow others their moment—sixty precious seconds in the Rebbe’s daled amos.
Tomorrow, Sunday, tens of thousands more are expected to arrive. All visitors will pass through the Ohel in an orderly and respectful manner, following the newly designed layout: a separate entrance and exit for men through the cemetery pathways, and a dedicated entrance and exit for women via the first tent near the Chabad House and Visitors’ Center. A newly constructed exit door carved into the surrounding stone of the Ohel now allows for a continuous, uninterrupted flow of visitors.
A large-scale security operation—both visible and discreet—has been deployed by the NYPD and federal agencies to ensure that the 24-hour period passes smoothly and safely for all.
Photos: Shalom Ross
It is a busha vecherpa that the organizers weren’t able to make the minimal effort to actually make completely separate entrances, it is a terrible situation that needs to be fixed immediately, completely not befitting for such a makom kadosh!
It’s not a busha vecherpa that the organizers are working so hard to organize it so well!
there is no water only torah, same way we need cold water for the heat we need mechitaz cause thats what hashem wants from us,