Volunteers Dig Through Heaps of Trash to Rescue Tefillin

Volunteers spent hours raking through the contents of a New York City garbage truck to rescue a pair of tefillin that was accidentally thrown out.

A Rebbi in a Satmar cheder in Williamsburg lost his tefillin, and a review of the security cameras showed a janitor mistakenly threw the tefillin bag into the garbage. UJO of Williamsburg immediately contacted the Sanitation Department’s Brooklyn North Chief Jarrit Scotti, who isolated the truck’s contents from the other trash.

Local Jewish news site Crownheights.info reported that a group of men, lead by Yitzchok Neuwirth, donned sanitation suits, boots, gloves and masks and gathered in Varick Avenue Sanitation Transfer Station.

After sifting through the garbage for hours with the oversight of Sanitation Department workers, the tefillin were found, safe inside a plastic bag, and the volunteers cheered.

After discarding their cumbersome sanitation uniforms, they gathered in a circle and sang and danced to celebrate.

UJO of Williamsburg released a statement on Twitter, thanking everyone involved for their effort. “Thank you to @NYCSanitation, Brooklyn North Chief Scotti for intercepting and isolating the garbage truck where a tefillin [was] discarded immediately when we called him this morning. Thank you Yitzchok Neuwirth and the entire search team. Burech Hashem the tefillin was found.”