Syracuse, NY (NCC News) Director of Chabad Lubavitch of Central New York wants people to do good deeds, known as Mitzvahs, to honor the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Yakov Rapoport started an initiative called “Eleven Mitzvahs for Eleven Victims.” It is meant to honor the victims while uniting the Jewish community.
“You can’t sweep away darkness with brooms,” Yakov Rapoport said.
Yakov Rapoport is calling on all Jewish people to be nice during this time of mourning, which is what mitzvahs are all about. A mitzvah can be something as simple as visiting the sick, or participating in a prayer service.
Last week, Robert Bowers opened fire in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. He killed 11 people and injured two more. Rapoport’s wife, Chanie Rapoport, is participating in Eleven for Eleven by opening her home to others.
“One thing I like to do in such a case, is I like to invite people to come to my home,” Chanie Rapoport said.
While Chanie Rapoport believes spending time with friends and family will help she is not the only one participating in Eleven for Eleven. She was excited when she saw students honoring the victims by wrapping the teffillin around their arms and saying the names of each victim.
“Doing a mitzvah and saying the victims name and in that way the name lives on,” said Chanie Rapoport.
The Tefillin are leather boxes containing Hebrew parchment scrolls. They are used during prayer to make a connection with God. Putting up mezuzahs is another thing that honors the victims, Yakov Rapoport said. Mezuzahs are parchments with religious text on them that are hung near the door of Jewish homes.
However, for both Yakov and Chanie, the meaning of mitzvahs and the eleven for eleven initiative extend beyond the Jewish community.
“Our response in the past to terror has always been…doing something to make the world a better place,” Yakov Rapoport said.
