Mitzvah Tank on 47th Street

On Tuesday afternoon I spent a few hours with the good people of the Mitzvah Tank that  is found at various locations in Manhattan during the week. The 'tank', operated by Rabbi Levi Baumgarten, is an outreach facility of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidim based in Grown Heights, Brooklyn. The 'tank' offers a facility for Jews to participate in a short afternoon prayer service ( Mincha), put on t'filin, and at this time of year - for a month before the Rosh Hashana holiday - to hear the sound of the shofar. Usually one or more of the people with the 'tank' stand outside and ask passers-by if they are Jewish. If not, they are honored with a 'God bless you, have a good day'. If they are, however, the mitzvah-tanker will invite them (if it's a man) to put on t'filin and/or (it it's a woman) to listen to the shofar.

I love to photograph the action inside the 'tank' and out on the street. On Tuesday the tank started out on 42nd Street and Madison Ave. and then moved to the 47th Street diamond district. Tomorrow I'm hoping to spend the afternoon on the 'tank' in the garment district (on 37th Street).

Here's some pics of the action on Tuesday: