One Bochur’s Tribute Sparked Hundreds of Mitzvos

Inspired by the memory of beloved Montreal mechanech Rabbi Yossi Wilansky obm, a bochur launched a six-week mivtzoim challenge that encouraged dozens of participants to bring hundreds of Yidden closer to mitzvos.

Two months ago, the Montreal community experienced a devastating loss with the passing of beloved Montreal mechanech Rabbi Yossi Wilansky, whose warmth, dedication, and passion for helping fellow Yidden touched countless lives.

Everyone processed this loss in a different way. For one bochur, Levi Zirkind, the loss inspired action.

After attending the shiva, Levi reflected on a Gemara he had recently learned and began thinking about what he could do to honor the memory of his beloved Pre-1A rebbi. Knowing how passionate Rabbi Wilansky was about mivtzoim—whether putting tefillin on another Yid, distributing Neshek candles, delivering shalach manos, or giving out challah before Shabbos—Levi decided that the most fitting tribute would be to encourage more bochurim to participate in mivtzoim.

With that goal in mind, Levi created a six-week Mivtzoim Challenge. He recruited his friend, Zevi Leshes, who handled all of the computer work and helped bring the initiative to life. Zevi, in turn, enlisted his grandfather to donate a dollar from the Rebbe as the grand prize.

Each bochur received a Mivtzoim card to track his weekly activities. Every two weeks that a bochur participated in mivtzoim, he earned a prize. At the conclusion of the six-week challenge, every participant was entered into a raffle to win the Rebbe’s dollar.

At the graduation ceremony, Rabbi Dovid Cohen shared the remarkable story behind the dollar. He explained that it had originally been given by the Rebbe to his brother-in-law, Reb Yossi Greenglass, who never had children of his own. Rabbi Cohen remarked that there could hardly be a more meaningful cause than using this treasured dollar to inspire young bochurim to continue the Rebbe’s mivtzoim and spread Yiddishkeit to fellow Jews.

The results were remarkable. The contest motivated many bochurim who had previously felt uncomfortable approaching people or had never participated in mivtzoim before. Over the six-week period, the bochurim collectively put tefillin on approximately 50 people each week, bringing the light of mitzvos to hundreds of Yidden.

Reflecting on the project, Levi shared, “After going to the shiva, I kept thinking about what I could do in memory of Rabbi Wilansky. He loved mivtzoim so much, and I wanted to do something that would encourage more bochurim to help another Yid do a mitzvah. I think that’s what he would have wanted.”

What began as one bochur’s desire to honor the memory of a cherished rebbi became a powerful community-wide effort, continuing Rabbi Wilansky’s legacy in the most fitting way possible—through action, outreach, and helping another Yid perform a mitzvah.

Never Miss a Headline!

Sign up for the COLlive Daily News Roundup and never miss a story

Opt In

• I would like to receive the collive newsletter

Follow Us!