Hamodia started a new series this week in which they plan to feature in-depth looks at kiruv organizations around the world. The goal is to get people involved by informing their cousins, co-workers, neighbors and friends of the events going on in their area.
This week they spotlighted the Norfolk Area Community Kollel and their Director of Programming & Community Relations, Rabbi Gershon Litt, who became observant himself at the University of Texas under the guidance of Rabbi Yehoshua Sauer.
Norfolk is home to 11,000 Jews (about 5% of the total population), 120 of whom attend Shabbos services on a weekly basis at the Orthodox Shul, Bnai Israel Congregation under the guidance of Rabbi Chaim Silver.
Rabbi Litt advises us to heed the words of Harav Moshe Feinstein who enjoined us to maaser (tithe) our time and resources to Klal Yisroel. We should be constantly looking for opportunities to draw people closer. It’s a very timely problem, especially in a place like Norfolk where the intermarriage rate is 93%.
FWIW, NCSY, under the guidance of R N Bulman ZTL, had a strong Virginia Region and chapters in Newport News, Danville, Richmond and possibly Norfolk during the early 1960s. Many BTs emerged as Bnei and Bnos Torah from that small in numbers but gigantic in midos and perservance for Torah.