Thousands Fill Lakewood Rally in Support of Torah Study in Israel

On Thursday evening, Lakewood, New Jersey, was transformed as tens of thousands of men, women, children, yeshiva students, and married scholars streamed toward a major rally for Torah support. The city, widely seen as a center of Torah life in the United States, was filled with special sound systems, giant screens, and unusually large logistics preparations for what organizers said was one of Lakewood’s largest events in years.

The gathering was led by a delegation from Keren Olam HaTorah, which is currently on a fundraising and encouragement tour across the United States. Among those on the stage were Rabbi Dov Landau, Rabbi Dan Segal, Rabbi Avraham Salim, Rabbi Yitzchak Hillel, Rabbi Moshe Kotler, Rabbi Shlomo Gali, Rabbi Yisrael B. Schreiber, Rabbi Chaim Meir Ouzband, and Rabbi Yitzchak Hevroni, who served as prayer leader for the evening’s Ma'ariv service. Host and foundation CEO Rabbi Tzvi Bielski opened the event by declaring that Lakewood was standing with Torah learning in Israel at a critical moment.

Speakers called on the crowd to support yeshivas and kollelim in Israel, where, they said, tens of thousands of Torah scholars are under pressure and facing harsh decrees. Rabbi Landau told the audience that the delegation had come to America on behalf of Torah institutions in Israel and urged everyone to give generously to Keren Olam HaTorah, adding that even those with limited means should help support at least one scholar. Rabbi Avraham Salim and Rabbi Shlomo Gali led prayers and Psalms, Rabbi Yitzchak Hillel spoke about the dedication of Torah students in Israel, and Rabbi Chaim Meir Ouzband quoted, “The greater the number of people who do a mitzvah, the greater the mitzvah.”

The crowd later sang Rabbi Dan Segal’s melody “Tattale Kum Shoyn Aheim,” with the rabbi joining the singing, and then danced in celebration at the close of the evening. The Lakewood rally was one stop on a wider tour that has already included Chicago, Baltimore, Monsey, and Brooklyn, and is set to continue next week in Florida, Boro Park, and Deal, with additional leading rabbis expected to join.