“Stop the Spread”: Thousands of Masks Distributed at Woodbourne Shul
From dawn to dusk, the Woodbourne Shul, under the leadership of the Nikolsburger Rebbe shlit”a, is at the heart of Jewish life in the Catskills. Yidden of all stripes come to the Shul and daven. They instantly feel at home, warmly embraced by Rebbe’slegendary ahavas Yisroel.
Ever since the Shul opened its doors, the Rebbe has gone out of his way to encourage mask wearing and social distancing. Many of the Minyanim are held outdoors and there is an abundance of hand sanitizers for mispallelim. In recent weeks, the Rebbe has also distributed thousands of top quality, reusable anti-microbial masks to mispallelim at no cost.
The masks were sponsored by Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, as part of its “Stop the Spread Initiative,” a community service that provides free masks in businesses and other venues. The Woodbourne Shul, with its constant and diverse flow of mispallelim, is the ideal venue at which to distribute these masks to a broad a swath of the community as possible. During the first distribution in Woodbourne, a box of 500 masks that was brought late afternoon was empty by the first Minyan Shachris the next morning. A cross section of mispallelim, including prominent Rabbanim shlit”a, are now using these masks wherever they go.
“Wearing a mask is both a matter of law and the recommendation of doctors,” says the Nikolsburger Rebbe. “It is a kiddush Hashem to see the tzibur doing so.”
“Many more people are wearing masks, now that they have one that’s comfortable, reusable and effective,” adds Duvi Honig, Founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber thanks the Rebbe for helping us provide this crucial service to Klal Yisroel.”