Wearing their hats and jackets proudly in the hot Florida sun, the Bochurim brought a tremendous amount of Chassidishe energy to Florida's great parade.
They built a beautiful float displaying the Rebbe's Ten Mivtzoim.
Today Yaakov Ephraim is a Chassidic Rabbi who travels around the country inspiring Jewish people to be excited about Judaism and show them the greatness of what they have. But the story isn't so simple. Over a decade ago, Yaakov Ephraim was an Evangelical pastor in Oklahoma.
Even as a pastor, Yaakov Ephraim taught his congregation to embrace the rituals of the Old Testament — something he'd been doing since the 80's.
Yet after almost a decade, he stopped trying to reconcile the Old Testament and the New Testament, closed down his church, moved to Denver and, by 1998, completed his conversion to Judaism before a Jewish court.
Since then Yaakov Ephraim, the former pastor, has inspired thousands of Jews to ignite their souls with his passion and incredible enthusiasm for Torah.