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50,000 Jews Gather To Daven (pray) In Lower Manhattan
Deiah Ve'Dibur ^ | April 24, 2002 | Yated Ne'eman

Posted on 04/25/2002 11:44:01 AM PDT by Alouette

Seven-year-old Ari Loeb, from Brooklyn, prays during a massive prayer gathering in New York Sunday, April, 21, 2002. The prayer was organized by a group of Orthodox Jewish organizations as a response to the crisis in Israel and the rise of anti-Jewish sentiment around the world. (AP Photo/David Karp) Jewish Orthodox women pray during a massive prayer gathering in New York Sunday, April, 21, 2002. The prayer was organized by a group of Orthodox Jewish organizations as a response to the crisis in Israel and the rise of anti-Jewish sentiment around the world. (AP Photo/David Karp)

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50,000 Jews Gather To Daven In Lower Manhattan

by Yated Ne'eman Staff

Under leaden skies heavy with the promise of rain, more than 50,000 Jews from across the Orthodox spectrum gathered in Lower Manhattan this Sunday to recite Tehillim and pray for the safety and security of Jews in Israel, where violence against innocent men, women and children has been perpetrated with sickening regularity, as well as in other countries where antisemitic attacks on Jewish citizens and institutions have markedly increased.

The rain held off, though, as the streets began to fill, the seemingly endless column of mispalelim fanning out from the intersection of Water Street and Hanover Plaza, the men's section -- a sea of black hats, knitted yarmulkes and baseball caps -- running north almost to the Brooklyn Bridge, the women's section running several blocks south to the Battery. It held off as the designated baal tefilloh, Rabbi Zyshe Heshel, stepped up to the bimah at 2:45 to begin the Mincha service, held off through the repeated, thunderous chants of "Omen" and "Yehei Shmei Rabbo." Throughout the responsive recitation of eight chapters of Tehillim, the rain held off.

Yet the weather was apparently the last thing on the minds of participants.

"It's a tremendous zchus just to be here," said one man, an attorney from Brooklyn. "It feels so good being part of this huge gathering, demonstrating support for our fellow Jews in the way Jews have always been taught to show support."

"Coming together to daven in these kinds of numbers is the ultimate expression of solidarity," was the way a woman in the crowd put it. According to the event's organizers, the gathering indeed represented one of the largest unified recitations of Tehillim in modern history. In addition to the Manhattan assembly, which drew men, women and children from throughout the Greater New York area, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Maryland, parallel programs -- many with live-telephone hookups to the proceedings in New York -- were held in at least 35 other cities including Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Boca Raton, FL; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Detroit, MI; Edmonton, ONT; Lakewood, NJ; Memphis, TN; Montreal, QUE; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; Scranton, MA; and Silver Spring, MD.

For yet another participant, the kiddush Hashem created by the dignified and respectful conduct of the massive crowd was one of the most awe-inspiring aspects of the assembly. "You have so many people in one place and practically the only sounds you hear are the sounds of tefilloh. That kind of decorum has to make a positive impression."

That impression was only reinforced during the event's final moments when, after the roar of thousands of voices raised in reciting "Hashem Hu HoElokim" -- the final words of the kabolas ohl malchus Shomayim that ends Ne'ila on Yom Kippur -- died down, the crowd slowly and quietly dispersed.

And then, a soft rain began to fall.



TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Israel; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: New York
KEYWORDS: demonstration; israel; jews; orthodox; prayer
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To: straight on red
There is this book, you can find a copy a Wal-Mart..... a cheap copy will set you back about 7 bucks. It tells all about Him....pages and pages....some of who He is, most of what He has done, is doing, will do. On the front of the book will be a word that looks something like this "Bible." ;)

but be careful, many have reported, after reading this book they have had to make huge life changing decisions.

21 posted on 04/25/2002 1:41:42 PM PDT by reflecting
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To: Alouette
50,000? This is the first time I heard about this, and I follow this kind of stuff. Of course, 200 Palestinians gathered in downtown San Diego gets front page headlines. Why does the press insist on backing the very people who wish to destroy us. You'd think at least they'd worry about their own "freedom of the press."
22 posted on 04/25/2002 1:43:55 PM PDT by Hildy
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To: modern_orthodox
4 years ago in Israel, there was a like demonstration by the ultra-orthodox against the Supreme Court there trying to legistlate from the bench (which they do a lot) with an anti-religious bias

I think you're referring to this gathering.

23 posted on 04/25/2002 1:50:18 PM PDT by Alouette
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To: Alouette
Our community is having a city wide Tefilah gathering this coming Sunday at 10:00am in Los Angeles. Anyone who wants to know where it is can email me privately.
24 posted on 04/25/2002 2:16:27 PM PDT by Cinnamon Girl
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To: straight on red
If you can find ONE qualified rabbi who agrees with you that YHWH is not a proper noun, I will retract my statement.

It IS the name of G-d.

27 posted on 04/25/2002 3:21:45 PM PDT by crystalk
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To: straight on red
YHWH is not a name. It is only a reference to the fact that God exists. It means "I AM THAT I AM" That is not a name.

God must have thought it sufficient.

Exodus 3
13 And Moses said unto God, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say unto me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Exodus 6
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

33 posted on 04/25/2002 4:06:09 PM PDT by hellinahandcart
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To: straight on red
You are full of bull. "I am that I am" in Hebrew, which Moses heard out of the burning bush, would be "Ehyeh asher Ehyeh" = future tense more than present, rather personalized to the hearer, a better translation would be "I will be to you, what I will be" or better "You just wait to see what I will be(come) to you."

[Like G-d had a secret up his sleeve, as if he were one lover (knowing all) meeting his future spouse for the first time, saying in effect "little can YOU imagine the importance of this encounter, what all I will be to you before it is over.]

That has nothing at all in common with the YHWH, which IS the name of G-d, because its spoken alternative is ha-Shem, meaning "the NAME," also the (space)SHIP, a euphemism for he who rides therein.

You are all wet. Don't respond to me again, no truth in you at all. I am afraid you might even be from the JW cult.

34 posted on 04/25/2002 4:07:23 PM PDT by crystalk
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To: straight on red
So why don't you then? You are obviously an ignoramus.

I doubt you have ever even studied Hebrew at ALL.

35 posted on 04/25/2002 4:09:53 PM PDT by crystalk
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To: straight on red
You need to do something else besides disruption.
36 posted on 04/25/2002 4:12:13 PM PDT by PokeyTheGoat
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To: straight on red
I have a son who is much like me, I am his mother, yet he is like me. Genesis quote is not about gender.

Jesus is the one referred to by the scripture you quote, when He came on earth He was called Jesus, although there are many other names.

you tell me His name......

37 posted on 04/25/2002 4:15:54 PM PDT by reflecting
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To: straight on red
It is not wise to so publicly display your ignorance.
38 posted on 04/25/2002 4:26:09 PM PDT by M. Thatcher
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To: straight on red
YHWH is not a name. It is only a reference to the fact that God exists. It means "I AM THAT I AM" That is not a name.

My Bible dictionary defines YHWH as the four consonants standing for the ancient Hebrew name for God commonly refered to as "Yahweh".

39 posted on 04/25/2002 4:37:25 PM PDT by Jorge
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Comment #40 Removed by Moderator


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