THIS ROADTRIP COULD CHANGE LIVES

The United Arab Emirates is now grappling with the shocking murder of Rabbi Kogan. Rabbi Kogan kidnapping and murder of Kabad Rabbi Kogan. [music] I believe it was the summer of 2021. I was in [music] Dubai and I met a young rabbi named Tvi Kogan. Svi was very memorable in the sense that he had a really nice smile. He was very friendly and you got the feeling that no matter what was going on in his life, he was always there to help and >> assist other people. I wasn't super close to TV, like I wasn't his best friend, but we saw each other often at that point in time. I was visiting Dubai multiple times per month, so we would get together often. We'd talk on the phone and he left a big impression on me. It didn't take long until he got married. I think he got married in New York. I was not able to make it to the wedding, but I was following along as he moved to the UAE and he was planning [music] to be a rabbi there and help the Jewish community that lives there. He was involved in many projects including sourcing kosher food to help the community in the United Arab Emirates. And [music] I remember late one Saturday night, my wife told me [music] that a rabbi in the UAE had gone missing. It didn't [music] take long for us to figure out that this was Tvi. And before you knew it, it was all over the news. Tvi had completely [music] disappeared. This didn't sound like something Tvi would do. Tvi is a very stable person, a person who [music] was always reliable. If he said he was going to be somewhere, he would be there. He's the kind of guy who's always okay. He's always fine. Nothing bad [music] happens to Tvi. But a few hours later, we heard the terrible news that Ti had [music] actually been kidnapped and murdered by terrorists who wanted him dead because he was a Jew. >> Next, Israel's government says an Israeli rabbi who [music] went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found. >> Murder affected me in a very deep and [music] personal way. It's it kind of hurts to say this, but sometimes you don't realize how great someone was until they're gone. And that was the case with Tifi. I can't say I knew him super well, but I realized after he passed that we really lost the giant. And I kept asking myself, [music] what do we do now? How do we make sure that the life of somebody who was dedicated completely to helping others doesn't just become a memory? [music] How do we make sure that it becomes a movement? A couple weeks later, I found myself on the other side of the world. I was invited to go visit Australia where I was doing a speaking tour and one of the things I was talking about was Jewish pride and resilience [music] post October 7th and we incorporated Svi's life and [music] story into the talks that I was giving in Australia. >> Two weeks ago there was a terrible tragedy in Dubai. A man who I knew personally [music] Rabbi Svi Kogan was murdered. The organization that brought me to Australia is called Kabad of RAR. RAR is regional and rural Australia. And what they do is they travel around to places far away from the big cities in Australia. And they meet with Jews who might be living hundreds of miles away [music] from the closest Jewish community. Jews who might seem like they're forgotten, like they're not connected with their Judaism or with their fellow Jews. And what RAR does is they go out there, spend time [music] with them, and help them feel connected to their Jewish heritage. As we were traveling the Australian countryside [music] and I was spending more and more time with RA, I began to see the excitement and the meaning that these visits had on the Jews of Australia. Seeing that they're not alone, that somebody cares about them, that they're [music] part of a bigger, greater Jewish family made a very big impact on me. And I thought perhaps one of the best ways we could honor is by doing what he always did, [music] connecting to people, helping people. And somewhere along the roads there in Australia, [music] this idea was born. For decades now, the Kabad movement has had [music] a concept called mitzvah tanks, where what they do is they'll take a RV, they'll plaster it with Jewish imagery, [music] and they'll go out into cities, meeting with Jews, trying to get them to do a mitzvah, [music] a good deed. And this is something I wanted to emulate, something I wanted to do. As I started looking into it for [music] this project, I realized that RVs are very expensive. They're very large. They're hard to drive. They're even harder to park. [music] In many states, you need to get a special driver's license in order to operate one. So, we went back to the drawing board and I came up with the idea of getting a cyber truck. So, I sat down with my friend Moy Milstein, who's a very talented designer, [music] and we decided to design this in a way that people would remember. If this truck was going to represent SI's memory and his mission, then it had to be able to tell a story. >> So, the test drive is almost done. We are at a red light heading back to the Tesla store in a couple minutes. We'll be there. How do you like it so far? >> Love it. >> Should we get one? >> Is it a yes? >> Mhm. >> I don't know if this is a good idea or a bad idea, but it's an idea that I am pursuing. We're doing this finally. Let's go. [snorts] Should we do it? What do you think, guys? Should we do it? We're doing it. Here we are. Today's the big day. I can't believe it's finally happening. But today, God willing, in a few minutes, we're getting the Cybert truck. Let's do it. Okay, it is happening. We are leaving the Tesla dealership. Let's go. So, I just dropped off the Cyber Truck at the um wrapping place. We're going to get wrapped today. Here it is. This is what it looks like before we wrap it. Can't wait to see how it's going to look as soon as the wrap is done. All right. So, good news. Got a call this afternoon. It's already ready. So, we're about to go in and see what it looks like. I'm so excited. I'm also very nervous because I hope they got it right. It's a lot of details and it has to be perfect. >> Hello. >> How are you? >> Good. Thank God. How are you? >> Good. Good. Good. >> Made it here >> so far. Yeah. >> All right. Awesome. Take a look at it. >> Okay. I don't see anything yet. One second. We're going into the room. Where is it? >> Right in front of you. >> Whoa, >> that looks awesome. That looks so awesome. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Shortly after [music] TV was killed, I was in Israel and I went to his grave site, to his resting place, and I told him that I had the intention to do this and I hoped to make it a reality. And thank God, now we're actually here. the truck is ready and we're going to be heading out of Texas very soon and start moving around [music] America. I also had the opportunity to visit with family in Israel and tell them what I wanted to do. They were extremely emotional and very excited to hear that this was going to be happening and u we even sent them the design to take a look at and uh thank God it looks like we're more or less ready to go. As you can see we took this design very seriously. We wanted it to stand out. We also wanted to have messaging that represents what stood for and what this truck stands for. So this is which is one of the most important commandments in the Torah which tells us that we have to love other people as much as we love ourselves. And I think that is the the basis on what this entire project is built on. Of course there's a lot of other messaging here along the way. We have a heart because this is done with a lot of love. Here we have a picture of Tvi. We have uh fillain being put on. If you notice here, we have actually a we put a number of a Holocaust survivor um just to show that even after there can be really dark times through doing mitzvah and good deeds, we can actually bring light into the world. So over here we have this large space where we can put any equipment we need. Um, we're going to be bringing barbecues along, coolers full of meat and drinks. We're going to be meeting and connecting with the Jews all around the country. And of course, any other equipment, Shabas candles, fill in fill in stands, a tent, whatever is necessary to make this the most successful vehicle, the most successful project that it can be, we want to have it right in here. One of the reasons why we wanted to get a Tesla specifically was because we're going to be doing a lot of driving, hopefully visiting every state in America. But when you're on the road for 10, 12 hours, you need to be laser focused. It takes a lot of brain power and brain space. And especially if you're driving solo or even with kids in the back or whatever, you have to take breaks regularly just to be able to stay awake and stay alert. With a Tesla, they have automatic self-driving. You literally just press a button. Look at this. So, we're going to put in uh torch center, which is uh a place I go to often. You press start self-driving. Look, my hands are not on the wheel. my my feet are not on the pedal or anything and the vehicle is literally just driving for you. So, you can be in New York and say, "I want to go to Chicago." You press the button and it takes you. You don't have to do anything else. Of course, you have to keep your eyes on the road, but this is going to help us visit a lot more places a lot faster and accomplish a lot more. In [music] the days following October 7th, Jewish communities around the world started seeing and feeling things that they'd never seen or felt before. [music] openly in the streets. People are calling for our destruction, for the death of Jews. [music] They're isolating us. We saw a tremendous amount of hatred. And while there certainly is a time and place to respond to hatred from the outside, I think now [music] we have a special opportunity to look inward, see what we can do to help our brothers and sisters who feel disconnected from the Jewish people. [music] And this is why I think it's the perfect time to put the mitzvah truck on the road. This truck isn't about a vehicle. It's about a mission. Over the next several years, [music] we're planning to travel across America. We'd like to visit each and every one of the 50 states. [music] And yes, that includes Alaska and Hawaii. We're not sure exactly how we're going to make it happen, but we have somewhat of a plan, and we're determined to [music] see this to completion. It's going to be expensive. It's going to be complicated. It's probably going to test us more than once, but we're determined to [music] make it happen. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. We're going to meet Jews from every background. We're going to hear their stories. We're going to share their stories. And we're going to perform mitzvah and good deeds. [music] We're going to build connections. And we're going to do it all in the memory of Rabbi Tvi Kogan. If you'd like us to visit your community, or if you'd like to help, or if you'd simply like to follow along the journey, visit mitzvahruck.com. Join the journey. Tell us your story. And if you see us on the road, come say hello. Because the best way to honor someone who spent his life connecting people [music] is to keep connecting people. [singing] >> [music]