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Last year, I had an experience that I never thought that I, a regular guy from Baltimore, would be able to have: I prayed in shul next to Rav Chaim Kanievsky on Rosh Hashana. It totally transformed my davening, and set me on the right track for the year to come.But how did I, a normal father-of-3, pull this off? Let me explain:

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When it comes to giving tzedaka before chagim, it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the options. Many are bogged down by the various errands left to run before the holiday, and simply lack the presence of mind to think of those who are less fortunate. Each year, rabbanim around the world work hard to rally for the impoverished, to bring the concept of charity back into the minds of their congregants. Indeed, next Monday, we will stand in shul and utter those iconic words – “Teshuva, tefila, and tzedaka will annul the decree.”

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Today, September 27 (24 Elul) Is the Chofetz Chaim’s Yahrtzeit.
And  It’s a One-Day Chance to Double Your Support for the World’s Largest Initiative to Spread His Teachings
30 years later and I still get the SAME question as I walk down the street!
As the only organization devoted solely to spreading the Chofetz Chaim’s teachings on Ahavas Yisrael and children’s education in mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro in schools around the world, I am amazed by how many people still stop me in the street and say ‘Aren’t you guys only a tisha bav video?’ ‘What else do you keep busy with throughout the whole year?!?!?’

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The room is silent, except for the unearthly beep of the heart monitor. The nurse shuffles in and out, organizing medications. Rabbi Klein, a man in his 60s with kind eyes and a warm smile, comes to his wife’s bedside to say ‘Good morning.’ Esther looks in his direction. It is all she can offer him in return. ALS has robbed her of her ability to move her body. This is their daily ritual.
What Esther does not know, is that her husband and their 8 children have run out of the means to continue to treatments which keep her alive. After her transition from ‘normal’ mother of a large family, to disabled, to paralyzed, it would be more than she could bear. Her body is a prison, but her mind and soul burn bright within.

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“It was the day of my wedding, and my father and sisters and I were almost ready to leave for the hall. Down the hallway I heard my sister scream, and saw that my father was on the floor. He had had a heart attack. I was in disbelief. We lost him that day. The wedding was cancelled, of course, and we went straight into shiva. Dad had raised us alone after Mom passed away, and we were lost as to what to do next.  He had many debts, which we knew nothing of, and we used our own money to pay the rest of the wedding expenses which could not be refunded.
For a full year, I worked as a nurse to save up money to re-make the wedding. We sold everything we had before to help take care of my siblings, and repay our debts. I am starting from scratch.” Tamar, 23*

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Pillar To Pillar will be the rallying cry as Amudim launches its annual Charidy campaign in order to continue its lifesaving work that has helped thousands of members of the Jewish community who struggle with abuse, addiction and mental health issues.

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The latest in a series of shocking pidyon shvuyim cases was made public this month, after the unjust imprisonment of Israeli father of eight Dovid Barel. Barel was arrested in 2017 after fraudulent charges were made in his name. Barel and his family fervently maintained his innocence, and it was generally assumed that he would be quick to return. Due to a bureaucratic nightmare not atypical in the prison system, Barel was denied a trial for an excruciating 2 years.

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It seems that every day we hear of another tragedy that strikes one of our fellow Jews. The most desperate cases land on the desks of organizations, such as Vaad Harabanim, who are dedicated to relieving the financial pressure on families in dire straits.

The stories of 243 desperately ill people were brought before two luminaries of our generation: Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita, and the Vizhnitzer Rebbe shlita. They have joined together to found a special fund for those sick people who are unable to function and support their families.

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As Sima Dor, mother of 9, lay on her deathbed last month, the emotions in the room were palpable. Grief and sadness of course, but also shock: She had not told her children that she was sick until just a few weeks before. Her reasoning for protecting her children in this way reached back to four years ago, when her husband passed away.
Amos Dor was generally healthy, and had been sitting at his shtender one day learning, when a heart attack instantly ended his life. The family was left reeling and immediately began to struggle emotionally, and financially. Sima did all she could to help her children recover from this trauma, so when she was diagnosed with cancer, she decided not to worry them.

Currently, there is a worldwide shortage of EpiPens, which is affecting individuals who have severe allergies that can cause anaphylactic reactions. The EpiPen is an auto-injection delivery system that administers a dose of adrenaline hormones which increases the heart rate and blood pressure and reverses the swelling of the airways. In cases of severe anaphylactic reactions, it can slow the allergic reaction and reverse its effects long enough to allow first responders to arrive or for a person to get to the hospital to receive further treatment.