Repentence/Reconnecting, Charity, Prayer…
Time has slipped forward while we were barely looking and the great and holy days of awe are upon us. That great and holy time when we crown the King, the King of Kings, and he judges his nation, his people, and the world.
The awesome moment, the awesome words, who will live and who will die… spills from our lips.
Everyone says there is This World and the World to Come. We believe that the World to Come exists. It could be that This World also exists – somewhere. But here? From the suffering everyone goes through the whole time, it would appear that this is Gehenim. (Jewish purgatory)” – Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Likutey Moharan 2:119.
I do not know if my teshuvah, repentence and reconnecting to Hashem, has been acceptable or even if it’s truly teshuvah. Perhaps it’s unworthy of consideration by the King. I do not know if my tefillah, if my prayers, are appropriate, had the proper concentration for even a moment, or even worth
listening to.
But I know I can take a dollar or shekel or pound or euro and alleviate someone else’s suffering, if only for a few moments.
If no other, that merit will stand for me.
Dear friends, I strongly recommend these charities that are helping people, alleviating suffering, and literally saving lives…
Yad Eliezer feeds thousands in Israel, and helps thousands of others in many ways! They also have the knack of turning your tzedakah dollar into 2, or 3, by making special deals for excess produce and similar arrangements. They run one of the lowest overhead and highest impact organizations in
Israel. Help them out!
During the recent war, Magen Dovid Adom, the Israeli ambulance corp, was on the scene saving lives every time. Staffed mostly by volunteers, driving right in to missle strike areas, they depend on your donations for their life saving equipment. Help them out, here. In the U.S., the same life saving duty is performed by the Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corp. They are 100% dependent on volunteers and donations, Help them here.
Zaka faces a grimmer duty. Not only do they arrive as supporting rescuers, but they’re the ones who recover the bodies for proper burial. A duty no one wishes to face, they run to perform. Run to help them, please.
Colel Chabad is feeding the neediest and poorest in Safed and in Jerusalem. They depend on every dollar to be able to do so. Help them out.
One would not think that medical equipment would be such a big deal. But when you don’t have money for a full meal for the family, you certainly don’t have money to rent a nebulizer for your childs asthma. For terror victims and war victims, the needs for equipment is great. Yad Sarah loans medical equipment, for free. They’ve become a major life saving organization in Israel doing so. Help their efforts.
Among those feeding the needy is a simple organization that simply feeds people in Safed. Their meal package for Shabbos is often stretched to Wednesday for the neediest families. Business in Safed is poor because of and since the war, more are needy than ever. Helpthem.
May the holy merits of charity stand for you during these days of awe, and seal you for a good year this Yom Kippur!
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Akiva
