Four members of the Lubavitch Beis Gavriel synagogue in Hendon, North West London, have raised over £4,000 in the annual Maccabi Community Fund Run held last weekend.
The money raised will be split between the synagogue and Kisharon, which provides the Jewish community with support for hundreds of people with learning difficulties. Raising the money for Kisharon is of special significance to the members of Beis Gavriel since their congregation is housed in the organisation's Adult Services centre on Parson’s Street, Hendon.
The runners, David Abramson, Mendy Freundlich, Yaakov Potash and David Jason, had been in training since Passover and were each sponsored to run 10km (6.2 miles) at the run held in the grounds of Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School.
“None of us had done anything like this before,” said David Abramson, a founding member of Beis Gavriel. “We are really proud to have managed to keep up the training and successfully run 10km in about one and half hours.”
“We are really happy to give something back to the school which houses our synagogue. The money will improve facilities and will help the student’s with their needs.”
Rabbi Menachem Junik, the synagogue's rabbi and director of the Jewish Home Network, praised the runners for their altruism and dedication.
“I’m incredibly proud of them for working so hard,” he said.
“It is wonderful that our members spent the time to train, run and fundraise. It wasn't just for the benefit of our synagogue, but also for the benefit of Kisharon. We feel a special connection with the charity as it is the home for our synagogue and, more importantly, it provides such a vital service in our community.”
Beis Gavriel synagogue is named in the memory of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg who were murdered in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attrocities which claimed the lives of 173 people.