10/13/2023
STATEMENT FROM RABBI BLUMES
To my Dear Friends,
This letter is one that has taken me days to write, with so many emotions and thoughts going through my heart and mind
As former members of the Brooklyn Jewish Center, our connection with Klal Yisroel and the Land of Israel is an integral part of our upbringing and part of who we are.
Ani Ma’amim, I Believe!
This is what gives us strength to survive, to overcome and to come out stronger than before. Our spirit and our neshama, our soul is where we draw strength from and it is our Divine essence that has kept us as a nation since the time we came out of slavery in Egypt and became the Jewish Nation.
And since that time in history, we have had those whose goal was to torture, murder, annihilate and destroy us.
The barbaric massacres that we are witnessing in our eternal holy land are just horrific! Our minds simply cannot comprehend such evil.
Yet, it occurred. And the pain is so much more, as it was just when we were celebrating our most joyous holiday and entering a new year.
We are one people with one soul. With our spirit and good deeds we can impact and have a positive influence on those in Israel, on our soldiers, on those who are in captivity and for those families whose pain is simply unfathomable.
We cannot just sit still. We must jump into action. But the question is what?
The Torah teaches us that the world stands on three pillars, Torah, Prayer and Charity. I lead you to the central site of Chabad.org, where you can find an enormous source of Torah thoughts and prayers. There are many charitable organizations raising funds for the soldiers and families of Israel on that site, as well.
Our 2000 students at Oholei Torah, the school that now exists in the Brooklyn Jewish Center building, have committed to increasing these three pillars.
We pray, we learn and we have dedicated our charity to support our alumni who run Jewish Centers in Israel, specifically the cities most affected by the current war. Oholei Torah has close to 100 alumni, who learned in these very hallowed walls of the Jewish Center, who have dedicated their lives to permanently live in Israel and build communities for Jews of all backgrounds.
If you wish, feel free to contact me to join and send your Israel Charity donations where I can have them distributed to our Alumni in Israel.
Our history has proven again and again, that the two elements that have kept us is our faith and our unity. Now is a time to strengthen our faith and unity, to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel. To support in any way we can, to do extra mitzvahs in their merit and increase in charitable acts.
I sign this letter with my deepest feelings of gratitude to be part of such a special community of those connected with the Brooklyn Jewish Center, knowing what a committed and special part of Am Yisroel each and every one of you are.
Am Yisroel Chai - The people of Israel live!
Wishing you a good Shabbos,
Sincerely Yours,
Rabbi Nosson Blumes
PS. If you wish to reach out, discuss the situation, or anything else - feel free to call me at 347-386-2963, or you can email me at [email protected].
