A few meters from the place where the shocking massacre in Elad was committed two weeks ago, in the municipal amphitheater, nearly ten thousand children of the city and their parents gathered last night (Thursday) for a moving Jewish demonstration in honor of the divine Tanna, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
This was the first event for the city's children after the terrible attack.
The gathering took place at the end of a huge procession held through the streets of the city by Chabad and passed near the place where the Angels of Sabotage passed and murdered three Jews in the horrific massacre.
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Parallel to the procession in Elad, processions were held in the streets of hundreds of cities and towns - in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Eilat, Modi'in Illit and Haifa, Betar and Ra'anana, in kibbutzim, in small towns, in the centers of large cities - with the estimated participation of over a quarter of a million children and their parents.
The processions, initiated by the Lubavitcher Rebbe at the time, and organized with great dedication every year by over 1,000 Chabad emissaries in Israel, set off during the daytime.
Hundreds of thousands of children marched through the streets of cities with signs bearing Jewish messages of values, strengthening the walls of Judaism, led by the ten "Holy Operations" that the Rebbe announced at the time with the aim of fortifying and strengthening the Jewish family.
In our contemporary era, when dark forces are trying to instill anti-Jewish messages in Israeli children, it was heartwarming to see a huge crowd of children holding signs about keeping kashrut, Shabbat, the purity of the Jewish family, giving charity, putting on tefillin, love of Israel, Jewish education, and more. The signs were accompanied by eye-catching illustrations.
The processions, which were secured by security forces at every location, were accompanied by convoys of vehicles that played Lag BaOmer songs and were decorated with stickers carrying moral messages, identical to the procession signs. The children of Israel were also accompanied by their parents, who joined the holy processions and were physical participants in the marches in honor of Rashbi.
Enthusiastic responses were heard from all sides from parents of all stripes who are happy about their opportunity to instill educational messages in their children that are in keeping with the way of Yisrael Saba.
At the end of the processions, magnificent children's gatherings were held, for which the Shluchim had worked hard in advance. At each gathering, Torah readings were given about the virtues and teachings of the author of the hymn, Rashbi, and Torah verses were recited. In addition, elaborate plays were performed for the children, in which educational and moral messages were embedded regarding Lag BaOmer.
In the midst of the gatherings, a ceremony was held under the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, with a tremulous cry of "Shema Yisrael" coming from the mouths of the children of Israel.
During the convention, hundreds of thousands of children learned Mishnayot in memory of the 45 martyrs of Meron, who were killed in the terrible disaster last year. At the end of the processions, and as instructed by the Rebbe, the children were presented with special holy books that had been specially prepared.
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