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Shabbat Parashat Vayeira 5784Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: Support for Jerusalem Old-Age Home – #175 – part IDate and Place: 5 Kislev 5669 (1908), Yafo Recipient: Rav Naftali Amsterdam, one of the great disciples of the Mussar Movement’s founder, Rav Yisrael Salanter. Rav Amsterdam moved to Jerusalem at an older age. Body: I received your dear letter, my honored and great friend. Regarding the wonderful institution, “Gather the Dispersed,” upon which your “flag flies,” I thought that it is superfluous to try to strengthen it with my words. However, since I want to fulfill the will of a tzaddik, I will speak before the whole congregation of our nation, in our Holy Land and in all of the vast Diaspora. There are several great and holy distinctions of this important home, where you cast your kind eye on the most deprived people in the Holy Land, namely the elderly homeless who have no one to look after them. They cannot come up with any deposit to a fund so that they can get into an institution, a practice that fortunately, has enabled many elderly to live in one of them. The money they are able to give is not enough to pay for their upkeep, which is very expensive, and they get great help from the existing old-age homes who take them in, may their workers and supporters be blessed. In contrast, the lot of the destitute elderly is more difficult, as they do not have the ability to enter an institution because they do not have even a small amount of property. We are also referring to those who do not have any special distinction. Certainly, distinguished Torah scholars will always be accepted by the existing old-age homes, even if they are incapable to contribute anything to the institution. Yet, the destitute we are talking about are worthy elderly people, many of whom are knowledgeable in Torah and excellent in their service of Hashem. Therefore, it is distressing that it is hard to find anyone who can help them. Their lot in life is so bitter, as they live in poverty in our holy and glorious city, to which they flocked from afar, often with great sacrifice, because of the city’s holy essence and symbolism. Therefore, who can imagine how great is the righteousness of the actions of the founders of the Gather the Dispersed Home?! It is, after all, totally dedicated to the deprived among the deprived elderly, who have been forgotten by the world. How great are the acts of kindness, which shall bring eternal credit to the good doers before Hashem, Who loves acts of kindness and dwells among the afflicted and comforts them. There is enough of a guarantee [of fine work] in that such a revered rabbi as you lends his name as a founder of the institution, so that we can be sure that everything is being done the way it is supposed to be done. This is also what was attested to by the holy letter of the giant Torah scholar, Rav Shmuel Salant (long-time chief rabbi of Jerusalem), in response to my inquiry about this great home. It is true that due to his physical state of weakness (Rav Salant was 92 at the time) he was not able to physically visit the institution, however he heard accounts about it from you, our great rabbi.
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More articles from this issue: We daven for a complete and speedy refuah for: Nir Rephael ben Rachel Bracha Arye Yitzchak ben Geula Miriam Neta bat Malka Meira bat Esther Together with all cholei Yisrael
to the memory of: for our homeland Prof. Yisrael Aharoni z"l Kislev 14, 5783 Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l
Mr. Shmuel & Esther Shemesh z"l Sivan 17 / Av 20 Mr. Moshe Wasserzug z"l Tishrei 20 ,5781 R' Eliyahu Carmel z"l Rav Carmel's father Iyar 8 ,5776 Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h. Tamuz 10 ,5774 Rav Asher & Susan Wasserteil z"l R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld z"l & Mrs. Sara Brachfeld z"l Tevet 16 ,5780 R 'Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha and Chana bat Yaish & Simcha Sebbag, z"l Rav Yisrael Rozen z"l Rav Benzion Grossman z"l R' Abraham & Gita Klein z"l Iyar 18, /5779Av 4 Rav Moshe Zvi (Milton) Polin z"l R' Yitzchak Zev Tarshansky z"l Adar 28, 5781 Nina Moinester z"l Nechama Osna bat Yitzhak Aharon & Doba Av 30, 5781 Rabbi Dr. Jerry Hochbaum z"l Adar II 17, 5782 Mrs. Julia Koschitzky z"l Adar II 18, 5782 Mrs. Leah Meyer z"l Nisan 27, 5782 Mr. Shmuel & Rivka Brandman z"l Tevet 16 5783/ Iyar 8, 5781 R' Yitzchak Eliezer ben Avraham Mordechai Jacobson z"l Elul 15 George Weinstein z"l Gershon ben Yehudah Mayer a lover of the Jewish Nation Torah and Land Tamar Lichtenstadt z”l
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