\u201cIf you help them, you are helping me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So declaresRav Gamliel Rabinowitz regarding the chashuve <\/em>families who are helped by Kupas Zichron Moshe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is this kupah <\/em>that has the full support of Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz? Who are the recipients he so worries and cares for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hidden diamonds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They are R\u2019 Gamliel\u2019s personal friends and neighbors, the talmidei chachamim <\/em>of Zichron Moshe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They live in the pure and holy city of Yerushalayim, the city that draws visitors from around the world, in a neighborhood marked by its absolute simplicity and exalted greatness. They are among the holiest families\u2014talmidei chachamim<\/em>, yirei Shamayim<\/em>,and ba\u2019alei chessed<\/em> untouched by the sullies of the world. They are gems. They are diamonds. They are Klal Yisrael\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they are people who are living in extreme poverty. Stark poverty. Poverty that cannot be described or fathomed with mere words. Frightening poverty. Starvation-level poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A walk through the neighborhood of Zichron Moshe shows facades that belie their insides. Dilapidated, broken-down houses, children wearing shoes that are two sizes too small, and families scrounging for coins on the ground so they can buy a bottle of milk for 12 to 18 children\u2014these are all typical scenes in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet, Zichron Moshe pulses with life. Yiddishkeit <\/em>and emunah <\/em>abound. Torah flows through the streets and dances from the lips of the men and boys who sit and learn like the talmidei chachamim <\/em>of yore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They have nothing of material value to speak of, but their limud Torah<\/em>, dveikus b\u2019Hashem<\/em>,and chessed <\/em>shine like rays of the sun. They open their homes to share the little that they have\u2014the one pulke <\/em>of chicken split 14 ways, the few wilted vegetables they managed to find and chop into a semblance of soup, the kugel that stretches to feed more mouths than it can possibly fill\u2014and their ruchniyus <\/em>which cannot be quantified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American yeshivah bachurim <\/em>looking to immerse themselves in the simplicity and purity of a true Yerushalmi home invite themselves over for Shabbosmeals. They enter apartments that are shockingly bare and leave inspired by greatness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Yerushalmimof Zichron Moshe have nothing tangible to speak of, but they have something that many people in this world cannot reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eggplant for dinner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They are holy people, special people, lights unto the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they are aniyim<\/em>\u2014poor in the truest sense of the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are mothers and fathers who cannot provide basic food for their families. They live in situations that are beyond our imagination. How many of us can picture no food<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n An American living in Eretz Yisrael got a phone call from a Yerushalmi friend. \u201cCan you make soup out of eggplant?\u201d he wanted to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eggplant soup? Who ever heard of eggplant soup?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A quick visit later that day confirmed that the sum total of food in a home with five children was one eggplant sitting alone on a shelf in the fridge. What did those children eat that morning? What would they eat that afternoon, and the next day and the next? How does one live with no food?<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are questions that are difficult to answer. And yet, they must be answered\u2014by us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because while Zichron Moshe overflows with purity, joy, goodness, mitzvos, and yiras Hashem<\/em>, families must eat. One cannot survive if there is no food. And one cannot bring in Yom Tovwith no means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the calendar moves through the year, beneath the joy spreading through the city there is raw fear. Pesach is just a whisper away, and that whisper will soon turn into a tsunami\u2019s roar of needs. Not fancy, luxurious needs. Basic, basic, basic needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shoes for a child who hasn\u2019t gotten shoes in more than two years. Not two pairs of shoes\u2014that\u2019s a thought that isn\u2019t even entertained. Just one pair of shoes that aren\u2019t in tatters, that actually fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Food for children who are starving. Meat? Chicken? Who can fathom such luxuries when there is no money to buy milk and eggs? But what of matzah and wine? And the Yom Tov seudos<\/em>\u2014one after the next after the next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who will provide for those who have nothing, for those pure, holy people who have nowhere to turn? There are no safety nets to catch those who simply don\u2019t have, no government subsidies to provide at least the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is Kupas Zichron Moshe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Real help for real families<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a kupah <\/em>that was created and is run by talmidei chachamim, <\/em>a kupah<\/em> backed by gedolim <\/em>and talmidei chachamim<\/em>, a kupah<\/em> that provides for talmidei chachamim <\/em>with dignity and respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Started 12 years ago by Rav Aharon Nimerovsky, Kupas Zichron Moshe has since become a respected organization which has grown past natural bounds. Run under the auspices of Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Rav Moshe Elyashiv, and Rav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, the kupah<\/em> has undertaken to provide for the Yom Tov needs of chashuve <\/em>families who cannot live on their own means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To date, Kupas Zichron Moshe has helped hundreds of families, and there are many more families pleading to be added to the roster. Every family has a story. There is the family of 16 that has no money for bread and milk and the family living in a two-bedroom apartment on Rechov Strauss with 12 children. There are almanos <\/em>and yesomim<\/em> with no one to provide for them. There are families grappling with illness, tragedy, and pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they all turn to Kupas Zichron Moshe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The beneficiaries, who suddenly have money to actually purchase the things they need for Yom Tov,are left shocked and awed. \u201cLike malachim<\/em>,\u201dthey write in their letters of thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you imagine their relief when they discover that they can bring in Yom Tov b\u2019derech kavod<\/em>? Can you picture their pure joy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are no words to express our thanks,\u201d one avreich <\/em>wrote. \u201cYou cannot possibly imagine how much this has helped us. In ten years, I don\u2019t remember such simchah <\/em>in our home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am self-employed with hardly any income in the month of Tishrei,\u201dwrote another. \u201cWhat you have given us has been a great gift that allowed us to bring Yom Tovinto our home with joy and without pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rallying together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last Yom Tov, Kupas Zichron Moshe raised $700,000, and there was not one extra dollar. This Yom Tov,more families have been added to the list, and the budget for Pesach is $1 million. This money will go to provide basic necessities like chicken, meat, fish, eggs, milk, potatoes, matzah, and wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can learn more about each family\u2019s needs and join the kupah<\/em>\u2019s Adopt a Family program which will enable you to provide for them\u2014our brothers and sisters in Zichron Moshe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The zechus <\/em>is tremendous; the need is pressing. We must rally together to help these special families. Every donated dollar provides for true and desperate needs. Every donated dollar helps a pure and holy family come into Yom Tovwith peace and serenity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n