Rego Park Chabad Giving Away Mezuzahs To Neighbors

REGO PARK, QUEENS — The Chabad of Rego Park on Wednesday launched a program to provide Jewish neighborhood residents with mezuzahs for their doorways.

Rabbi Eli Blokh says it's an effort to encourage Jews to express pride in their identity following a recent string of anti-Semitic attacks, including a stabbing during a Hanukkah celebration at a Rabbi's home in Monsey and a fatal shooting in Jersey City.

A mezuzah is a scroll inscribed with a Jewish prayer that is placed inside a decorative case and affixed to one's doorway.

"Jews need to take pride in their identity and in expressing their identity," Rabbi Blokh told Patch.

Putting up a mezuzah, he said, is "a really powerful way of doing that."

The idea came out of the Queens Unity Rally Against Anti-Semitism on Jan. 12 in Forest Hills, where the Rabbi spoke about the importance of not hiding one's Jewish identity.

Chabad volunteers are reaching out to residents of Rego Parks to offer to pay for the Mezuzahs and install them.

“Mezuzahs keep you protected whether you’re at home or in the streets,” Breina Horvitz, secretary for Chabad of Rego Park, told the Forest Hills Post. “So many bad things are happening in our community, we want people to feel assured—like they’re not alone out there and that God is watching over them.”

For more information, contact Rabbi Eli Blokh of Chabad of Rego Park at 718-393-3085.