Mitzvos competition

This year's Chidon Mitzvos competition was held recently at Emerson Middle School. More than 1,000 people attended the finals of the annual competition, in which students learn and are tested on the Sefer Hamitzvos of the Rambam. The 150 finalists are all students from Lubavitch cheders, yeshivas and day schools from around the world who scored highest in their home city's competition. Rabbi Mendel Greenbaum, principal of Cheder Menachem Los Angeles, hosted the competition, and Rabbi Baruch Sholomo Cunin, director of Chabad of California, and Rabbi Ezra Schochet, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad of Los Angeles, commended finalists for their diligence in learning the Sefer Hamitzvos. Internationally acclaimed entertainer Lippa performed a rousing medley of songs, much to the delight of the audience, many of whom rose to their feet to sing and dance along. But the centerpiece of the event was the high-energy 'Jewpardy' competition, in which the finalists wowed the audience by answering complicated questions on knowledge from the Sefer Hamitvos.

The Chidon Mitzvos was inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe's directive that all Jews be united by learning the halachos set down in the Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvos.