'I get tears in my eyes': 'A Mitzvah for Israel' pop-up provides place for people to share
The Chabad House Palm Beach's "A Mitzvah for Israel" pop-up store has seen a steady stream of people eager to show their support for Israel, according to Hindel Levitin, wife of Rabbi Zalman Levitin.
The synagogue opened the store Wednesday on South County Road in Palm Beach in the wake of last weekend's Hamas attack on Israel that left at least 1,300 people dead, including 22 Americans.
The idea behind the mitzvah — a Hebrew word generally translated as a "good deed" — pop-up "is to assist, in a very powerful and practical way, the soldiers’ safety, the hostages’ return, and all those who are in this unimaginable crisis," Hindel Levitin said.
Shoppers can donate to three Israeli organizations that are on the ground in Israel; study an excerpt of the Torah; get a letter in the Children’s Unity Torah; purchase a mezuzah; pray with the rabbis; and offer words of encouragement and support for one another, Levitin said. They can also don teffilin, pairs of black leather boxes containing Hebrew parchment scrolls worn on the head and arm.
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Hindel Levitin said as word of the attack spread, her husband decided it was important to create a space where people could visit and share their thoughts, so he reached out to the owner of an empty storefront at 361 S. County Road, who gladly offered it free of charge.
The pop-up will be open through the end of the month because the new tenant will move in Nov. 1, she said.
Levitin told the Daily News on Friday the store had seen between 40 and 50 people stop by each day and that it had been heartwarming to see how supportive everyone is of Israel.
"I feel like people are shaken and torn and feel like they need to do something, "she said. "There was so much extreme darkness and people want to be the light, see the light, or do something to create light."
More: Palm Beach's Jewish congregations rally to support Israel following Hamas attacks
The pop-up provides that opportunity, she said, noting that people can create a spiritual light by giving to charity, praying, donning tefillin and getting candles.
She noted that town police regularly patrol the store. "We feel very safe," she said, adding that some officers had written notes to Israeli Defense Force soldiers. "I get tears in my eyes. ... Everybody who has come by wants to do something," Levitin said.
One person who stopped Thursday told her: “I was happy to be there today saying prayers and giving charity for Israel instead of just sitting home being sad and worried.”
Those who cannot physically visit the store still can take part in supporting Israel by carrying out a mitzvah wherever they are and posting about it on the congregation's campaign page at onemitzvah.org/israel/chabadpalmbeach. Donations of money can be made at palmbeachjewish.com/israel.
The pop-up store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday to Friday. More information about the store is available by calling Chabad House at 561-659-3884.
To see more photos of the "Mitzvah for Israel" pop-up store in Palm Beach, click on the photo gallery at the top of the page.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Aid to Israel: Synagogue's pop-up store in Palm Beach fields donations
