Many of Eretz Yisroel's greatest Torah authorities and
spiritual leaders issued a joint declaration on Sunday 15
Sivan (May 30) urging members of the Torah community to
support P'eylim / Lev L'Achim's current campaign to enroll
thousands of children from nonobservant background into
religious schools.
Similar in scope to last year's effort -- which resulted in
an influx of 6,500 children into the religious school system
and the establishment of fifty Torah educational facilities --
this year's drive, named "Project Rishum: The 1999 Campaign
to Enroll Children in Torah Schools in Eretz Yisroel," was
launched over two months ago. (See article inside about this
new campaign.) However, in light of the extremely caustic
anti-religious propaganda that left-wing parties such as
Meretz and Shinui disseminated in the course of the recent
election campaign, Lev L'Achim organizers decided to withhold
media publication of the current school enrollment campaign
until the political situation would stabilize. Now that the
air has cleared, the news blackout has been lifted.
Two prominent talmidei chachomim will present to the
Torah community of America the message of Eretz Yisroel's
Gedolim -- HaRav Yaakov Borenstein, rosh yeshivas
Chevron Geula; and HaRav Boruch Shapira of Yeshivas Kol
Torah, a member of Lev L'Achim's directorate. HaRav Aharon
Leib Shteinman, in a separate letter addressed to Lakewood's
Torah community, regrets lacking the physical strength to
undertake the journey to America so as to deliver the message
in person, as he did last year during his historic visit to
America with the Gerrer Rebbe. Rav Shteinman's warm letter,
which underscores the Lakewood community's crucial role in
jump-starting last year's effort, will be read at a rally to
be held there this Thursday.
The declaration issued by the gedolim calls the
public's attention to the astounding success of Lev L'Achim's
1998 school enrollment campaign, which "surpassed all
expectations." More importantly, it calls on all members of
the Torah community to take part in this year's effort by
assuming personal responsibility over a share of the huge
costs involved in waging a massive, nationwide effort of this
magnitude. In their declaration, the gedolim
repeatedly stress that enrolling children from
nonobservant backgrounds into Torah schools is "hatzolas
nefoshos mamesh -- an act of literally saving a life,"
and that "ein lecho hatzola gedola mizu -- there is no
greater deed of saving a life than this."
A long list of gedolim representing the entire
spectrum of Eretz Yisroel's Torah community signed the
document. Several of them make a point of generally declining
to sign written declarations of any kind, yet they made an
exception in this case for the sake of Lev L'Achim's 1999
enrollment campaign. The declaration is signed by the
following gedolim (names appear here in alphabetical
English order):
HaRav Shmuel Auerbach, the Belzer Rebbe, HaRav Avrohom Chaim
Brim, HaRav Simcha Zissel Broide, HaRav Yosef Sholom
Eliashiv, HaRav Yechiel Michel Feinstein, HaRav Nissim
Karelitz, HaRav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, HaRav Tzvi
Markowitz, HaRav Zalman Rotenberg, HaRav Boruch Rosenberg,
HaRav Moshe Shmuel Shapira, HaRav Pinchos Scheinberg, HaRav
Aharon Leib Shteinman, the Vishnitzer Rebbe, HaRav Shmuel
Halevi Wosner, HaRav Shlomo Wolbe, and HaRav Avrohom Yaakov
Zalesnick
