Topics in this digest:
42. Tzedaka for Israel
From: "Rabbi Barry Leff" <rebbarry@yeladim.org>
Chevre,
A friend of mine, Rabbi Aaron Frank (not an RA member, and thus not on
RAVNET) has started a wonderful project which allows people to provide
tangible support to important and worthy causes in Israel. Every week
Aaron, his wife Laura, and friends Gilla and Glenn Jasper do some
homework, find a worthy charitable cause in Israel, make arrangements so
that donations to the cause can be done online, and send out an email
telling friends about the charity and how to make a donation. I have
made several donations using the links they have set up, and it is very
easy and user-friendly.
If you would like to be added to the email list, please send an email to
Aaron at:
afrank@btifloh.org
asking to be put on the "Imachem" email list. I include a copy of the
first email Aaron sent below, which describes the project in a little
more detail. Other causes they have highlighted in recent weeks include
an organization that provides physical therapy, chiropractic, etc., for
victims of terrorist attacks, and an organization that provides help for
people in Israel recovering from mental illness.
Please feel free to forward this email to others you think might by
interested.
Please note that at this time, the credit card service they use to send
money to charitable causes will only accept credit cards that have a US
billing address.
L'shalom,
Barry Leff
______________________________________________________________
"If Israel is Disneyland, you visit when the weather is good...if Israel
is family, you visit when they need you."...R. Shlomo Riskin
Rabbi Barry Leff
Beth Tikvah Congregation
Richmond, BC, Canada
www.btikvah.ca
email: rebbarry@yeladim.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank, Aaron [mailto:AFrank@BTFILOH.org]
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 1:19 PM
To: 'Barry Leff'
As we are all aware, the situation in Israel is, at best, depressing.
The Matzav is now well into its third year, with no end in sight.
Terrorist attacks continue. And if there aren't attacks, there is daily
news regarding attempts that have been thwarted. The Israeli economy is
a mess. And now, astronaut Ilan Ramon, z"l, is dead.
Israel needs our support more than ever before.
We wanted to come up with a way that would keep "giving to Israel" at
the forefront of all of our minds, and make it so easy and convenient to
give that it would be nearly impossible to say "no."
So, we have created our project -- Anu Imachem (We Are With You). Each
week, we will pick a tzedaka in Israel to highlight. We will send an
e-mail out to all our friends and family briefly describing the tzedaka,
and include a link through which you can click to make your donation
immediately and safely online. And you can give as much or as little as
you'd like (even as little as a dollar!). And it's confidential. We are
working with a wonderful organization to organize this effort, and
donations to the Israeli causes will be made through this organization's
website. All donations will be tax deductible.
We hope you will all participate in our project. We have an opportunity
to give an enormous amount to our Land and its people.
You will hear no discussion here of Yeshuvim (settlements), of "Green
Line"s, of elections or of the Palestinians. No. We're going to help
our brothers and sisters in Israel. But we're going to do it with a
completely different focus.
Please read on for this week's cause ....
CLARA HAMMER
She is well into her 90's but totally indefatigable! Clara Hammer, The
Chicken Woman of Jerusalem, has been feeding hungry people in that city
(and other locations) since 1981. It was a Friday morning in that year
that Clara Hammer, a resident of Jerusalem, was waiting in line at her
local butcher shop to buy some chickens for her Shabbat meal. Shabbat,
tradition tells us, is a time when we set our best table - the best
dishes and silver, a crisp, clean tablecloth, perhaps even fresh flowers
and candles - all to welcome the Sabbath Queen.
This particular Friday morning, Clara noticed her butcher handing a
young girl a large plastic bag filled with chicken skin and bones -
obviously, not something anyone would feed their family. When it was
finally Clara's turn to get her order, she asked the butcher, "How many
cats and dogs does that young girl have? You gave her so much food for
them."
Mr. Hackar, Clara's butcher, responded that what was in the bag was not
for the youngster's pets, but, rather, for her family. The girl's
father was very ill, her mother did not work, and they didn't have
enough money to buy food for Shabbat. Mr. Hackar also told Clara that
he had given them food for a long time without asking for payment, but
he could not continue doing that. So, with the leftovers he gave them,
they were able to make soup.
Horrified that anyone would have to eat such unhealthy food, Clara
instructed the butcher to give the girl's family two chickens and a
pound of ground turkey every Shabbat. She would pay the bill herself.
She also insisted that they not know who was providing the food.
Soon, Clara heard about more families who did not have enough money to
make a proper Shabbat and she decided to help them, as well. Her funds
come from people all over the United States and Israel who have heard of
her work.
Today Clara provides over 200 families with food for their Shabbat
table. Her butcher bill for the year? About $55,000.
Now, it's in our hands ...
Here's what you do ....
Assuming you will appreciate the cause we've described for this
particular week, please click on the following link:
https://www.networkforgood.org/makeDonation.go?hosection=donate
Once you get there, it's self-explanatory, EXCEPT FOR ONE THING:
For the "Designation (Optional)" section, we will give you a name, in
quotes, to cut and paste, or type in. For example, this week's is
"Imachem-Hammer." That way, you can be sure your donation will go to
the cause we describe for that particular week. You can also choose to
continue giving to one cause for several weeks. Again, simply cut and
paste, or type in, the cause we've described in a previous week into
that "Designation (Optional)" section.
May we all have the opportunity to do lots and lots of Mitzvot!
Gilla and Glenn Jasper
Laura and Aaron Frank
PS - If you are receiving this from more than one of us, please let us
know and we will make sure you aren't sent it twice again.
(Un?)Fortunately, we (the Franks and Jaspers) have a lot of common
friends between us.