Chabad Launches Radio Campaign in France, Calling for an Increase in Mitzvot

A new radio advertisement in France is encouraging Jews throughout the country to increase their religious practice in light of recent terror attacks and ongoing anti-Semitism in the country.

According to Rabbi Chaim Shneur Nisenbaum of the Complexe Scolaire Beth Haya Moushka school in Paris, the ad proclaims that: “Today, because our community faces difficult trials, let’s increase Torah study, add to tefillah [prayer] and give tzedakah [charity]. These are the three pillars of our lives. They will be the key to our victory.”

The one-minute ad, sponsored by Chabad in France, began airing Wednesday and will run on a local Jewish radio station for the next few weeks, according to the rabbi, who also serves as a board member of the radio station.

The calls for an increase in good deeds, prayer and charity come after a week of violence rocked France, culminating in a terrorist attack that left four Jews killed at the Hyper Cacher supermarket just before the start of Shabbat last Friday afternoon. Terrorists also murdered 12 people at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo last week, as well as a policewoman on duty.

Millions of French citizens—and the leaders of more than 40 nations from around the world—took to the streets on Jan. 11 to show their support and put a face on the French motto of liberté, égalité, fraternité (“liberty, equality and fraternity”).

Rabbi Hershy Druckman of Paris emphasizes that “we Chabad emissaries were also at the demonstration. Of course, we didn’t need signs that proclaimed ‘I am a Jew’ to identify us. We came with our own spiritual weaponry. Tens of emissaries showed up, each one armed with several pairs of tefillin and, as we planned, we spread out so that we were available everywhere. The enormous awakening wasn’t disappointing. Thousands of Jews put on tefillin in front of television cameras that broadcast their pictures all over the world.”

Despite the outpouring of people carrying placards that read “Je Suis Juif” (“I Am Jewish) and “Je Suis Cacher” (“I Am Kosher”)—along with signs that read “Je Suis Charlie” (“I Am Charlie”) in honor of the magazine massacre—the situation in France remains tense. Thousands of police and law-enforcement officials are currently guarding synagogues, Jewish schools and institutions as terrorist groups continue to threaten Paris.

“Right now, French Jews are perplexed; they don’t know what to do, how to react. We are telling them that the only way to overcome the situation is to be confident in G‑d and to continue on our path,” explains Nisenbaum.

Rabbis talked to people of all ages, young and old, amid signs that read: “Je Suis Juif” (“I Am Jewish) and “Je Suis Cacher” (“I Am Kosher”).

‘Source of Blessings and Protection’

It is timeless advice previously suggested to the Jews of France back in 1981 by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

That year, following a terrorist attack in Paris, a Chabad emissary in Lyon went to the Rebbe and asked him to pray for the Jews of France.

The Rebbe’s response was that since the event was such significant news, “surely, the government will take strong action” and ensure the safety of Jews there. Still, he added, the Jews “must increase their Torah study.”

Many would agree that those words are as needed in 2015 as they were in 1981, which is why Chabad emissaries throughout France have also started a 1 million mitzvah campaign in which people accept an additional mitzvah or good deed.

“Doing more mitzvot,” adds Nisenbaum, “is a source of blessings and protection.”

Druckman takes it a step further, saying, “ … If they want to kill us, if they don’t want any more Jews here, we’ll respond as Jews do, by taking on more mitzvot. We’ll put on tefillin (even if we don’t do it every day), we’ll buy kosher food (even if we aren’t always particular about that), and we’ll add whatever other mitzvot we can because darkness is dispelled with light, not with sticks.”

The ad proclaims: “Today, because our community faces difficult trials, let’s increase Torah study, add to tefillah [prayer] and give tzedakah [charity]. These are the three pillars of our lives. They will be the key to our victory.”

Chabad rabbis stress that “doing more mitzvot is a source of blessings and protection.”