Shalom Dov Ber Lipsh, an eighth-grader in the Chabad school in Nachlat Har Chabad—the Chabad neighborhood in Kiryat Malachi, Israel—was doing what he loved to do on Friday afternoons: helping Jewish men and boys to put on tefillin and say a short prayer.

On his way home, he was hit by a car and killed on the spot. The driver has been taken in for questioning.

“The first day of the month of Menachem Av, right before Shabbat, has become a day of mourning and tragedy,” said Eliyahu Zohar, mayor of Kiryat Malachi. “We all share the deep pain of the family on the loss of their son, the tzadik, who was participating in the tefillin campaign in area stores. We embrace the family in these difficult times and are ready to assist them in every way.”

In response to the tragedy, a campaign was launched in Israel for individuals to put on tefillin in memory of Shalom Dov Ber and following his example, to encourage and enable others to do so as well.

Thousands of mourners from around Israel gathered after midnight following the conclusion of the Shabbat for the funeral procession, which proceeded from the central synagogue in Nachalat Har Chabad to the local cemetery in Kiryat Malachi, where Shalom Dov Ber Lipsh was laid to rest.

In response to the tragedy, a campaign was launched in Israel for individuals to put on tefillin in memory of Shalom Dov Ber and following his example, to encourage and enable others to do so as well.
In response to the tragedy, a campaign was launched in Israel for individuals to put on tefillin in memory of Shalom Dov Ber and following his example, to encourage and enable others to do so as well.