A Lesson to be Learned; The Power of Unity

Time and again, the Jewish community stands out in times of need for everyone to see, but as a Jewish-focused outlet, we feel privileged to highlight another incident, just one of many.

It took just minutes for the call to go out on this hot Wednesday afternoon that a missing six-year-old boy got lost in Canarsie Park. But what happened after can not be properly described.

Hundreds of volunteers from various organizations poured in to the area, with Flatbush Shomrim setting up a command center and taking the lead in the search. They were joined by organizations from across the tri-state area, all United in the effort to find the missing little boy, Yosef Shapiro.

Despite the heat and looming rain, thousands of individuals joined in on the search which spanned over 6 hours, across a large wooded area near Canarsie Park.

No two people looked alike, but they were all united in their desperate quest to find their little Jewish brother. 

Whatsapp status was used to collect food and drinks, with many offering to pay all expenses. “I saw on someone’s status that there’s a person in Bingo willing to buy food but needs help with the cost, I immediately sent a QuickPay of $100 to assist,” one Boro Park resident told BoroPark24, an anecdote which was echoed by many others.

Masbia set up a tent with food to ease the work on the volunteers who walked through tall grass and trees, calling out “Yosef” every few seconds hoping for a response.

And just as they were united in the search, the excitement and dance of Chasdei Hashem along with a sigh of relief spread like a burning wildfire in Los Angeles when little Yosef was found by angels of Hashem.

Videos show those holding Yosef proudly share the news with the command center, where Yosef’s family was stationed. The excitement shows on the faces of those who found little Yosef simply cannot be described.

It is the survival skill that has so sadly been honed through millennia in galus; the visceral instinct to help our brother in need, on a moments' notice, and to rejoice in their good fortune. 

Am Yisroel in all its glory, in so many colors, was on full display this afternoon, into a rainsoaked evening, on the streets of Canarsie.