The 10th of Shevat marks 70 years since the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of righteous memory—assumed leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement upon the passing of his father-in-law and predecessor, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.

As Jewish communities around the world gathered on this auspicious day to celebrate the Rebbe’s leadership by immersing themselves in his teachings and engaging in activities to change the world for good, some yeshivah students in New Jersey and New York City did their part by setting out convoys of “mitzvah tanks” to inspire and uplift local communities and residents.

Since 1967, Chabad’s “mitzvah tanks”—specially equipped RVs emblazoned with eye-catching signage—have been a ubiquitous presence in New York City and other major cities around the world, where young men offer passersby the opportunity to step inside and do a mitzvah.

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In New Jersey, yeshivah students departed from the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, N.J., with a fleet of 12 RVs, accompanied by 70 rabbinical students and 35 elementary-school students from the college's day school.

After a stop in Livingston, N.J., which has a sizable Jewish community, they drove to Jersey City, where four people, two of them Chassidic Jews, were killed as part of an anti-Semitic attack at a kosher grocery store in December, and joined the local Jewish community in a lively celebration of Jewish pride and perseverance.

Yeshivah students departed from the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, N.J., with a fleet of 12 RVs, accompanied by 70 rabbinical students and 35 elementary-school students from the college's day school.
Yeshivah students departed from the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, N.J., with a fleet of 12 RVs, accompanied by 70 rabbinical students and 35 elementary-school students from the college's day school.

“We want to celebrate 70 years of leadership in the way that the Rebbe taught us,” says Yossi Spalter, 19, a student at the rabbinical college, “sharing a mitzvah with an individual, which brings immense light into their lives and world, something we need so much today.”

The convoy then split up, with groups of students heading to a number of cities around the state.

“We’re looking to raise the profile of Jewish thinking and Jewish living in the New Jersey community,” Rabbi Mendy Herson, the college’s associate dean, tells Chabad.org, “and the level of Jewish pride, especially in today’s climate of rising anti-Semitism.”

The 10th of Shevat marks 70 years since the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of righteous memory, assumed leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement upon the passing of his father-in-law and predecessor, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.
The 10th of Shevat marks 70 years since the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of righteous memory, assumed leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement upon the passing of his father-in-law and predecessor, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.

On the Streets of New York

Meanwhile, in New York City, 70 “mitzvah tanks” departed from 770 Eastern Parkway, the Chabad movement’s Brooklyn-based headquarters, for Manhattan. The vehicles were staffed by an international team of students—from Australia to Russia—with eight languages spoken between them, as fitting for the nation's most multilingual city.

Pausing on the Manhattan Bridge for a brief interlude of exuberant Chassidic dancing, the vans continued on to Fifth Avenue, where many thousands of New Yorkers stopped to watch the parade unfold, with many taking to social media to share their joy.

The “mitzvah tanks” then fanned out across New York City’s five boroughs to 70 different locations, bringing the joy and light of the momentous day to residents all over the city.

Eye-catching displays highlighted different mitzvahs.
Eye-catching displays highlighted different mitzvahs.
Young men offer passersby the opportunity to step inside and do a mitzvah.
Young men offer passersby the opportunity to step inside and do a mitzvah.
Dancing on the streets of New Jersey
Dancing on the streets of New Jersey
Throughout the day, students joined the local Jewish community in a celebration of Jewish pride and perseverance.
Throughout the day, students joined the local Jewish community in a celebration of Jewish pride and perseverance.