After threats were issued to Toronto Jews in wake of the ongoing war in Eretz Yisroel, Lubavitcher Rabbi Yirmi Cohen responded by putting on tefillin with over 100 people, a number of them for the first time.
By Anash.org reporter
After threats were issued to Toronto Jews in wake of the ongoing war in Eretz Yisroel, a Lubavitcher responded by putting on tefillin with over 100 people, a number of them for the first time.
Over the past week, Toronto has seen a number of protests over the war in Eretz Yisroel. One such protests saw close to 5,000 people gather in support of the Hamas regime in Gaza. While the gathering was mostly peaceful, a number of the protestors viciously beat a Jewish man who was counter-protesting.
Following the incident, a threat was issued to the Jewish community that a “lynching” would be held at a specific location the following day, Sunday, Erev Shavuos. Threats were issued to individual Jews as well. Rabbi Yirmi Cohen, rabbi of the Ohalei Yoseph Yitzchak Congregation in Toronto, told Anash.org that he recieved threatening messages on Facebook.
“I decided that I would respond the way the Rebbe said to, with tefillin,” he told Anash.org. “So I showed up at the location where the threat hoping to find Jews to put on tefillin with.”
“Thankfully, no one from the group who threatened showed up. Instead, hundreds of Jews were present. Over 100 of the attendees put on the tefillin, and for many of them it was the first time,” he said.
“I have never in my life seen such Jewish pride, with so many wanting to do something for the Holy Land which is currently under attack,” he said.
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