Roshei Yeshiva and Askanim gather in Lakewood on behalf of Ukrainian refugees            It’s the least we can do   A group of Roshei Yeshiva, askanim, and Lakewood community members gathered on behalf of Ukrainian Jewry, to revitalize and reaffirm their fundraising and hatzalah efforts. The plight of Ukrainian Jewry is a contemporary issue that we’ve all been following closely. But as the war in Ukraine drags on and headlines move to brighter news stories, their desperate straits are slowly fading from public awareness. Unfortunately, their situation is far from over.   Rabbi Menashe Frankel, one of the Vaad Hatzalah’s chairmen, opened the evening applauding the hatzalah efforts and unprecedented achdus of Klal Yisroel, who stepped up in a real way to help the refugees evacuate and resettle. “It’s something the outside world cannot fathom,” he said, “and yet we are always there for our brethren.”   “Rav Chaim Volozhiner once turned away a meshulach,” he said, “and that man was later found out to be a missionary. When asked how he knew, Rav Chaim explained that he had felt a powerful urge to give. The lack of a yetzer hara was what made it clear to him that this wasn’t a legitimate cause. The yetzer hara is active when something is real and pressing, and we need to step up and help out as much as we can. We haven’t stopped buying our luxuries and comforts – the least we can do is give to them.”   “I received a phone call at 11AM with an irate caller asking how we could not be giving to a specific organization’s hatzalah efforts,” Rabbi Frankel recounted. “Another call came in that day, with someone asking how we could possibly give to that same specific organization’s hatzalah efforts! “That’s the metzius. It’s mamash hatzalas nefashos. Vos men ken tun, is men mechuyav tzu tun.”  Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, Philadelphia Rosh Yeshiva and Chaver Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Answer Harav Shmuel’s Call – Donate Today!            All because they cared In our efforts, we are listening to the Roshei Yeshiva; we keep everything completely transparent, we’re doing what has to be done, and we are seeing a lot of hatzlacha, B”H. But if we were to stop to ask questions, we could lose our opportunity to help out! We’re not here to ask questions – we’re here to save children, to save doros, and be zoche to take part in real hatzalas nefashos.”   Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, Philadelphia Rosh HaYeshiva, reiterated Rabbi Frankels message. “We need to give,” he said. “We need money, and it will be spent mamash on hatzalas nefashos. Vos men ken tun, is men mechuyav tzu tun.”   R’ Sholom Kamenetsky, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva of Philadelphia, described his experience during the Vaad Hatzalah Europe trip, where Roshei Yeshiva and Vaad members met with refugees and saw their situation firsthand. “I was there. I saw it in their eyes. Yidden are suffering physically, b’ruchnius. These are people who had parnassah, successful gvirim who are lost and displaced now. There’s a lot of fatigue now, their story is not in the news anymore, people are tired of hearing about it. But the needs aren’t stopping at all. They need so much help – every […]

The post Rav Aharon Kotler: You Start, The First Year is On Me appeared first on The Yeshiva World.