New York City's streets are experiencing an influx of "mitzvah tanks" today as the Jewish community of Crown Heights celebrates Passover in a dynamic way. According to CBS News, the Mitzvah Tank Parade, a tradition dating back to 1974, includes 75 RVs transformed into mobile symbols of faith. The parade began at 11 a.m. in Crown Heights and is now touring Manhattan and spreading throughout the boroughs.
These RVs, wrapped with messages of peace and Jewish heritage, will carry student volunteers from the Lubavitcher Yeshiva, who are tasked with distributing thousands of boxes containing matzos and other holiday essentials. "Usually people go to synagogue. We're bringing the synagogue to them, and we're bringing in a unique way," Rabbi Mordy Hirsch, executive director at the Mitzvah Tank Organization, told CBS News.
The effort also extends to supporting families in need, as reported by CBS News. Organization such as Chai Lifeline are working diligently to ease the burden of the holiday's preparations on families with sick children, providing them with essential holiday items as well as practical support like meal preparation and home cleaning.
Meanwhile, COLlive.com reports that in addition to distributing tens of thousands of matzos, the Mitzvah Tank Parade aims to reach an ambitious goal of connecting with 100,000 Jews across New York City. Rabbis Mordy Hirsch and Moishy Schmukler, directors of the Mitzvah Tank Office, lead the initiative, which will offer Jewish New Yorkers opportunities like laying tefillin and participating in mivtzoim, which are outreach activities. An army of bochrim, or yeshiva students, will also take to the streets, engaging in mivtzoim citywide.
The parade not only serves as a distribution channel for holiday necessities but also as a public celebration of Jewish faith and education. Rabbi Shmuel Turk, principal at the Lubavitcher Yeshiva, emphasized the importance of this kind of community engagement to CBS News: "If our vision for the world is a world of peace and goodness, we have to teach that to the youth. We can't just rely on the core subjects that are taught in our classroom, but we actually have to teach goodness and kindness. And what better way is there than by example?"
