Wellesley, MA - Rabbi Moshe Bleich of the Wellesley/Weston Chabad Center announced today that the final numbers are in, and during the JCC Maccabi Summer Games, which were held in Boston last week, he and a small group of volunteers (Shluchim and Bochurim) helped 850 Jewish athletes, between the ages of 13-16, put on Teffillin over the course of the 4 day event.

An unprecedented accomplishment considering that that number represents over half the 1,500 athletes that participated in the summer games and that it was done in a restricted amount of time (an average of 8 hours each day). By the center's estimation they were meeting as many as 50-60 athletes every hour, many of whom were putting on Teffillin for the very first time.

Additionally, the Wellesley/Weston Chabad reported that they gave out over 2,000 pieces of gum, of which 1,200 were with brochot; had at least 500 athletes put on tzitzis, and gave away nearly 300 specially designed Boston Maccabi/Chabad yarmulkes. Hundreds of athletes also sent postcards to Jewish soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and had their picture taken in front of the Kotel.

At tables strategically set up at each of the 2 main sporting venues (Brandeis University and the New Jewish High School), Rabbi Bleich and his representatives met with nearly all the athletes and coaches who came to Boston from as far away as Australia to compete in the Olympic style event as well as to celebrate their common Jewish heritage.

"It was absolutely unbelievable," said Rabbi Nechemia Schusterman, Director of the Chabad center in Peabody, who was one of the Shluchim to volunteer his time at the Chabad table. "I cannot begin to tell you how much mivzoyim happened. Literally there were lines of athletes waiting to put on Teffillin before each game."

The JCC Maccabi Games are an Olympic-style sporting competition, sponsored in part by the Jewish Community Center Association and Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and are held each summer in various cities across North America. It is the largest organized sports program for Jewish teenagers in the world and this year the games were held in Austin (TX), Columbus (OH), Greater Washington (DC) and Boston.

Boston was the largest host city this year, having hosted more than 1,500 Jewish athletes and 13,000 spectators from across the country as well as from around the world --Canada, Venezuela, Poland, Great Britain, Australia and Israel.

Although Chabad has been a part of the JCC Maccabi Summer Games since the event's inception in 1982, it has never enjoyed the level of success that it had achieved while in Boston last week. The Wellesley/Weston Chabad set an all-time record for number of athletes putting on Teffillin, Tzitzis and saying brochot.

"None of this would have been possible without the effort of the area's Shluchim who tirelessly volunteered their time and energy in helping us welcome all of these athletes," said Rabbi Bleich. "I would especially like to thank Jason and Judy Chubnofsky (Boston Maccabi Chairpersons) and Mark Sokol (President of the JCC of Greater Boston) for giving Chabad such a prominent role in hosting the '04 summer games."