Erev Rosh Hashana 5781 Dear Friend, First the good news. Boruch Hashem, 120,634 precious Jewish children from all across Eretz Yisroel just began the new school year in 273 Torah schools administered by Chinuch Atzmai. Almost one-third of these children come from non-frum or nominally frum homes! Collectively, thanks to the generosity of Klal Yisroel around the world, Chinuch Atzmai has underwritten 1200 bus lines that will make their way each day to 215 moshavim, transporting over 20,000 precious neshamos to 124 Kiruv schools throughout Eretz Yisroel. These schools are the lifeline of a Torah life for over 30,000 Kiruv talmidim and talmidos. What an amazing accomplishment for Klal Yisroel! What an amazing zechus for the Yom Hadin!

An early morning shooting near the Rutgers University campus in New Jersey killed two people and wounded six others, authorities said Sunday. Middlesex County prosecutors and New Brunswick police said officers responding to the scene shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday found eight people with apparent gunshot wounds. The victims were taken to various hospitals and two male victims were pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, police said Police and prosecutors said the investigation so far indicates that “there is no affiliation with Rutgers University or its students.” WABC-TV reported that the gunfire occurred at an off-campus party when someone started shouting and then fired a number of shots.

Kicking off a Western swing, President Donald Trump barreled into Nevada for the weekend, looking to expand his path to victory while unleashing a torrent of unsubstantiated claims that Democrats were trying to steal the election. Trump defied local authorities by holding a Saturday night rally in tiny Minden after his initial plan to hold one in Reno was stopped out of concern it would have violated coronavirus health guidelines. Unleashing 90-plus minutes of grievances and attacks, Trump claimed the state’s Democratic governor tried to block him and repeated his false claim that mail-in ballots would taint the election result. “This is the guy we are entrusting with millions of ballots, unsolicited ballots, and we’re supposed to win these states.

The “Help A Brother” campaign is now reaching its final hours at https://helpabrother.rallybound.org/. With only three hours more to go, it is essential that everyone join in this campaign to help one of our own, who has been impacted by the coronavirus.  Setting a goal of $200,000 for the Cohen family―Chabad Shluchim in Mariupol, Ukraine―the campaign seeks to alleviate the challenges the family must face during these most critical hours. Now, Rabbi Yossi Jacobson beseeches every single one of us to join and “Help a Brother” come home to his children.

Save the Date: Join Project Inspire’s 15th Anniversary ‘Virtual’ Dinner Project Inspire. It’s got something for every committed Jew, for every Yid who wants to make a difference. You’ve been at the sold-out mega-conventions, always a cut above the rest. You’ve taken part in the Shabbat Show. Invited guests to your Shabbat table.  Joined the stimulating , thought-provoking Lunch and Learns.   Now it’s time to take it one step further.  Especially now, in this turbulent era, as we grapple with the after-effects of Covid-19, Project Inspire hasn’t taken a back seat.

Hagaon Harav Meir Mazuz began feeling ill after his weekly shiur on Motzei Shabbos and on Sunday morning, he was evacuated to the hospital by ambulance from his home in Bnei Brak. Those close to the Rosh Yeshivah, 75, said that he is not ill with the coronavirus. Signs were hung up in Yeshivas Kisei Rachamim in Bnei Brak asking his talmidim to learn and daven for a refuah sheleimah. The Rav’s name for tefillah is: הרב מאיר ניסים בן כמסאנה. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Prime Minister Netanyahu held A Sunday evening press conference together with Corona Commissioner Professor Ronni Gamzu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein regarding the upcoming lockdown that the government is issuing for all residents of the country. The Prime Minister began by praising Israel’s actions during the first wave of Corona back in the spring when Israel went on lockdown early and shut the economy down early. The lockdown is now set for three weeks, with the potential to extend it. It is set to begin on Friday at 2:00 p.m. in order to give families time to prepare for Rosh Hashanah. The public sector will function in a scaled-down fashion similar to the way it did in March and April.

Aron Schweitzer is a choshuve member of the Belzer kehila and beloved kindergarten Rebbi in Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal Canada. We were all shocked and saddened when his wife suddenly passed away at the young age of 55. She had ran a home daycare which was a big source of income for the family. Reb Aron is now left, not only grieving the loss of his wife, but with debts up to 50 thousand dollars which has accumulated over the years, plus the costs of the kevurah. Reb Aron has been an integral part of our community for so many years and contributed to the kehal in many ways. The LEAST we can do for him is ease his financial burden. Please contribute and may we only share in simchos.

The following important update was released moments ago by the Chaim VChessed Organization: On Sunday, September 13, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced plans for a lockdown, which will begin on Friday, Erev Rosh HaShana. Media reports had stated that the government was considering closing Ben Gurion airport, and ceasing air traffic to Israel. Such a move would have had dramatic ramifications, for travelers planning to leave Israel during the holiday season, and for those scheduled to travel to Israel in the coming days. Dozens of calls poured into Chaim V’Chessed offices over the past few days regarding this topic. Tonight, we are able to share that the airport will not be closed.

More than 100,000 demonstrators calling for the authoritarian president of Belarus to resign marched through the capital of Minsk on Sunday as the daily protests that have gripped the nation entered their sixth week. Many in the crowd, which the human rights group Viasna estimated as numbering more than 150,000, carried placards critical of Russia, reflecting concerns about President Alexander Lukashenko’s planned meeting on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It would be their first face-to-face contact since the unrest broke out in Belarus after the Aug. 9 presidential election that officials say gave Lukashenko a sixth term with 80% support. Protesters and some poll workers say the results were rigged.