Jews across Israel and the world are consumed with worry and fear for the lives of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Sha’ar and Naftali Frenkel, the three boys kidnapped by terrorists in Gush Etzion last week. Since then, the Israel Defense Forces and intelligence establishment has left no stone unturned in their efforts to locate the teens and, with God’s help, return them to their parents unharmed.
But the staff and teens of New York NCSY, based in the Five Towns, felt they needed to do more.
They understood that since its inception, the Jewish nation, when faced with crisis, has grabbed hold of “the tools of their ancestors,” and appealed to God through Torah, tefillah (prayer), and ma’asim tovim (good deeds).
To that end, New York NCSY spearheaded an effort to bring together NCSY regions throughout the country, the Orthodox Union’s Department of Community Engagement and Synagogue Services, and in partnership with Bnei Akiva and the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), to launch a “Virtual Vigil” – an around-the-clock schedule of learning, prayer, and mitzvot, performed by teens and adults from around the world.
Within 24 hours of launching, over 650 people from around the world had signed up to give their time in creating this Virtual Vigil of Kedusha on behalf of these precious teens.
It is the hope of all involved that through these earnest efforts in the merit of Gilad Michoel ben Bat Galim, Ya’akov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah and Eyal ben Iris Teshura, Hashem will see fit to bring them home safely and quickly.
Individuals interested in participating can go to http://ncsy.org/bring-back-boys/ and fill out a simple form to select a day and a 30-minute slot, and identify which activity they are committing to for that time. You can also view a calendar of taken and available times at http://ncsy.org/bring-back-boys/calendar-times/.
While it is our deepest desire that this campaign will become unnecessary even as it is launched, it is also our intent to continue this project non-stop until our boys are brought home.
