Thousands of children from Torah schools, together with leading rabbinic and chassidic figures, gathered this past week in Beit Shemesh for a massive public assembly ahead of Shavuos that featured a rare double Pidyon Peter Chamor ceremony, an event many residents described as something the city had not seen in years.

The gathering was organized by the city’s chassidic faction, including chairman Shimon Goldberg, Yeshaya Weissman, and Avraham Nachman Frenkel, in cooperation with Mayor Shmuel Greenberg.

Kedushas Aharon Street was closed to traffic and transformed into a large event complex to accommodate the thousands who attended. Hundreds of children from Torah schools and chadorim across the city arrived in organized groups following extensive preparations and coordination with school administrations.

The event featured stirring music and emotional songs led by singer and composer Bentzi Stein together with the “Kapella” choir and keyboardist Mendy Brandwein. The crowd joined in singing “U’vchein Tzaddikim Yir’u V’Yismachu” as one rabbinic leader after another ascended the stage.

Among those in attendance were the Vizhnitz Beit Shemesh Rebbe, the Lelov Rebbe, the Trebishan Rebbe, the Shotz-Drohobych Rebbe, the Kasho Rebbe, the Ziditshov Rebbe, the Spinka-Sasregen Rebbe, the Radoshitz Rebbe, the Amshinov Rebbe, the Lizhensk Rebbe, the Dzshikov-Vizhnitz Rebbe, and the Bergsaz Rebbe, along with dozens of rabbanim and community leaders from throughout the city.

The gathering opened with remarks from Harav Asher Schwartz, one of the city’s rabbanim and author of the sefer “Maadanei Asher,” who spoke about the importance of preparing properly for mitzvos and the holiness of the days leading up to Shavuos.

The keynote address was delivered by the Vizhnitz Beit Shemesh Rebbe, who spoke at length about the sanctity of the three days of preparation before Matan Torah and the proper mindset needed to receive the Torah.

One of the most emotional moments of the evening came when the Lelov Rebbe cried out “Shema Yisroel,” prompting thousands of children and participants to proclaim the words together in a thunderous voice that echoed throughout the city and gave the event the atmosphere of a modern-day Sinai experience in the streets of Beit Shemesh.

Later in the evening, two separate Pidyon Peter Chamor ceremonies were conducted one after the other. The first ceremony was performed by the Spinka-Sasregen Rebbe serving as the kohen, followed by a second Pidyon Peter Chamor conducted by Harav Aharon Katz, rav of Kehillas Brod in Ramat Beit Shemesh D.

The large-scale operation and coordination of the event were overseen by Tzvi Frenkel, director of the “לטובת” center, who spent weeks organizing logistics with local communities, Torah schools, safety officials, and the “Aktiver” production company.

Organizers and residents in Beit Shemesh described the gathering as “not just another event, but a historic moment of Torah, unity, and Kiddush Hashem that the city has not witnessed in many years.”

{Matzav.com}