Rabbi Shlomo Noginski: A Boston Rabbi's Response To Stabbing Attack

00:03 Speaker 1 I'm Gary Wolak, and this is Lamplighters, stories from Chabad emissaries on the Jewish frontier. Life as a Chabad emissary is often joyous, but it can be unpredictable and even dangerous. Chabad has become a ubiquitous presence in every corner of the world, but behind every Chabad house are emissaries, regular people striving to transcend their circumstances, and a community that supports and relies on them. These are their stories. On July 1st, 2021, Rabbi Shlomo Noginsky was attacked in front of Shalo House, a Jewish day school located in the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Brighton. Noginsky was, according to court records, attacked by Khalid Awad, an Egyptian man living illegally in the US on an expired student visa. Wielding a gun, Awad allegedly tried to force Noginsky inside the school's van. But Noginsky ran across the street to a small park where he says he was stabbed eight times by Awad over the course of about 10 minutes. Noginsky says the assailant attempted to stab him about 100 times. That attack on July 1st, and the community rally the day after on the very spot where it took place, made for splashy news headlines.

01:33 Speaker 2 Breaking tonight at 5:00, I Team sources say a rabbi in his 50s was stabbed multiple times in the middle of the day. WBZ's Julie McDonald- Police arrested the suspect and recovered a gun and knife in a nearby alley. Boston police have identified the suspect as 24-year-old Khalid Awad of Brighton. Awad is expected to be arraigned on assault and battery-

01:51 Speaker 1 Those dramatic headlines have subsided, but Noginsky's story is one that still deserves attention because of the ways he and the community have responded. It's a powerful reminder of the strong relationship between Chabad emissaries and their communities. On a muggy Wednesday morning, I approach the front door of the home where Rabbi Shlomo Noginsky lives with his wife and 12 children. They reside in a community that's been on edge for over a week. I ring the bell while juggling two bags of audio gear and two microphone stands, tools of the trade that might look like weapons to some. As I wait to be let in, a voice calls from behind me. I turn to see a 60-something-year-old woman in a floppy sun hat. She sternly asks me what I'm doing there. "I'm here to interview the rabbi for Lubavitch International," I say. "Okay, good," she answers. "I see Rabbi Noginsky on my walks. I keep an eye out for him." I wish her a good day, and she goes on her way, apparently satisfied that she's done her part to ensure the safety of Rabbi Noginsky and his family. I enter the Noginsky home. It's a busy place. In a room full of photos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and bookcases sagging under the weight of Jewish books, I set up recording equipment as two police detectives talk with the rabbi and ask him to sign some documents. I wonder if I'm imposing on this man from whom so much has been demanded lately. But the interview goes

03:30 Speaker 1 on. With his left arm in a sling, Rabbi Noginsky sits at the head of a long table. His demeanor is calm and authoritative. I hit the record button, and the interview begins. I ask Noginsky when he first became aware of the various ways in which the community has reacted to the brutal attack on him. He responds in Hebrew, the language with which he's most comfortable.

04:01 Speaker 3 In the first moment it became public, hundreds of people were trying to reach me by phone, by calling and visiting me. Obviously, on the first days, I was not available to talk to people. But people came to visit me in the hospital. Jewish people and non-Jewish people to come to show solidarity, and people wrote letters. Even now, I still get letters from the community, letters of support. And people come with food. So you see a tremendous amount of care and love coming my way.

04:48 Speaker 1 Rabbi Noginsky attended Shul and spoke to the congregation on Shabbos morning a little over a week after the attack. Congregants were surprised to see him there so soon. Noginsky says he was happy to see that attendance had tripled, and there have been many more positives. Since the attack was on a Chabad rabbi, Shalo House director Rabbi Dan Rodkin and Noginsky decided to go forward with a new rabbinical ordination program. Rabbi Noginsky will soon oversee the education and ordination of eight rabbis each year. The number eight is important in Judaism. It symbolizes a reality that's beyond nature, higher than this world. But in Rabbi Noginsky's case, that number has a more particular meaning.

05:46 Speaker 3 For each wound that I received, there will be eight new rabbis, and it's not just going to be rabbis. They will be preparing for shlichus.

05:54 Speaker 1 Soon after the attack, an anonymous donor came forward to support a brand-new semikhah program.

06:12 Speaker 3 And we are planning to buy a place that will host both my family and the bachurim

06:16 Speaker 1 Because as you know, we're not only learning from the book, we're learning from being observant. So it's also important that the bachurim will see the lifestyle of a Hasidic family. Members of the Brighton community, Hasidic and non-Hasidic, Jewish and non-Jewish, have also gotten a taste of the Hasidic lifestyle since the attack. Shalo House director Rabbi Dan Rodkin tells me about acts of kindness that weren't reported on television or in the newspapers.

06:46 Speaker 4 Our kids baked cookies and brought to police. And one of the parents, she baked something like Israeli food, Yemenite food, and they brought it to police and they brought it to, uh, first responders who helped.

06:58 Speaker 1 Rabbi Noginski adds that many people have responded to his request to add more mitzvahs. Many have sent me notes by text and by letter saying that they accepted extra things to do. One sent to me says that she started lighting Shabbos candles. And one person put tefillin on for the first time in 15 years. And bachurim, friends of the children, reported that so many people have agreed to put on tefillin because this was my request. The majority of my injuries were on my left arm, so they put tefillin on the left arm. How have these positive responses made you feel personally? It makes me feel very good. Not that the attack happened, but you know, it makes me feel very good. It just encourages people to do more good things in the world. And how are you feeling physically these days? Baruch Hashem, I feel better. It's a big miracle that I'm alive. Noginski goes on to say how the doctor who recently saw him told him that all eight of his stab wounds were mere millimeters away from creating lasting ligament and nerve damage. But every single wound is expected to heal completely. My injuries are very painful, but eventually they're going to be healed. It's temporary. But mitzvahs, what people do in my honor for this situation, the mitzvahs that are done are forever. The wounds will heal and the mitzvahs will stay. Khalid Awad is being held without bail, pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for July 29th. He's pleaded not guilty to

09:36 Speaker 1 charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and other related charges, including battery on a police officer, committing a civil rights violation causing injury, and armed assault and battery with intent to intimidate. The latter two are considered to be hate crimes. Rabbi Shlomo Noginski and Rabbi Dan Rodkin say that surveillance video from the day before the attack strongly suggests Awad was casing Shalo House. They think it's likely he was planning to enter the building and harm students. Rabbi Noginski, this may be a question that you don't want to answer, and I would totally understand if you don't. But if you had the opportunity to speak face-to-face with your accused attacker, what would you say to him? You cannot fix anything with hate. Hate is not the answer. As I pack up my recording gear, I tell Rabbi Noginski that although I know vows are discouraged, I wanted to share with him that had I been present during the attack on July 1st, I would have stepped in to help him. His eyes fill with tears, and he turns away for a moment. And then he says, in a very soft voice, Many people have told me that. Rabbi Shlomo Noginski needs some time to heal, but among the many blessings he's recently received is that he can also use that time to think about all the good being done in response to a senseless act of violence. To donate to Rabbi Shlomo Noginski's fund to build his dream center, please go to www.shalo.org. That's

11:31 Speaker 1 S-H-A-L-O-H.org. I'm Gary Wallach. Thanks for listening to Lamplighters, stories from Chabad emissaries on the Jewish frontier. We welcome your questions and comments about what you've just heard on Lamplighters. Please email us at podcast at lubavitch.com. And if you know of a great story involving Chabad emissaries or the people they inspire, please let us know about them. That's podcast at L-U-B-A-V-I-T-C-H.com. This is a Lubavitch International podcast.