Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Fwd: News From Agudas Yisroel


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Agudath Israel of America <news@agudah.org>
Date: Wed, Apr 8, 2020, 2:30 PM
Subject: News From Agudas Yisroel
To: <agentemes4@gmail.com>


Strengthening Torah Life. Advocating for the Community. Serving Each Individual.
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News from the Agudah:
 
  • Words can not express the depth of our sorry at the petirah of the Novominsker Rebbe ZTVK"L yesterday. The Rebbe, who was Rosh Agudas Yisroel for decades, and Chaver Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, was the life and soul of the Agudah's achrayus for the Klal. Please see below for words in his memory written by Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudah's executive vice president.

  • On a similarly somber note, please see below for proper guidelines for Kavod HaMeis during levayos during this coronavirus pandemic, per the directives of the National Associatiopn of Chevra Kadisha.

  • We sent out earlier today, but are repeating here, an important message about blood plasma donation from recovered COVID-19 patients, a potentially life-saving therapy. Please see below for details, or click here to register. Questions about this can be directed to COVID@agudah.org.

  • As we are staying home this Chol HaMoed, per the directives shared earlier this week, there may well be more time to learn. We're delighted to announce an additional extension to the virtual Yarchei Kallah which will continue on Chol Hamoed, from Sunday through Tuesday. The program will be held l'zeicher nishmas R' Yaakov ben R' Nachum Mordechai, the Novominsker Rebbe. Please see below or click here for more information.

  • On the same topic of limmud Torah, and in case you missed it, click here to watch the latest Ki Heim Chayeinu video, titled, "Torah is the Chiyus of Every Yid."

  • Government programs in response to COVID-19 continue to be greatly applicable to many. The director of our New Jersey Office, Rabbi Avi Schnall, was just interviewed by Hamodia about that, and his role during the current crisis. Click here to view the article.

  • Those programs were the subject of much activity in Washington D.C., as Agudath Israel worked closely with many parties to make sure that the needs of our community would be accounted for. We applaud the inclusion of faith-based nonprofits and religious liberty protections in COVID-19 assistance programs. See below for full details.

  • Many are still in need of this - here is the link for state by state guidance on the coronavirus relief programs, written by our regional directors.

  • If you missed any of the previous virtual Yarchei Kallah sessions or you'd like to watch them again, you can watch recordings of the speeches here.

  • Lastly, and with great pleasure, we're pleased to ask you to click here to view and download the Pesach Pirchei Newsletter for this Shabbos Chol HaMoed.

We wish everyone a Chag Kasher V'Samei'ach!
Kevurah of the Novominsker Rebbe, Many thousands participated via teleconference.
"Davka Achshav": The Novominsker Rebbe's Final Message to Klal Yisroel
By: Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president, Agudath Israel of America
 
I had the zchus, for over 35 years, to work closely with the Novominsker Rebbe ztvk'l in the vineyards of Agudas Yisroel. Many of those interactions were memorable, and I had frequent occasion to marvel at the brilliance, compassion and vision of this great leader.
 
But perhaps the project the Rebbe undertook that will remain with me most vividly is the very last one I had the privilege to work with him on: the letter of brocha and chizuk issued by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah earlier this week, on Monday 12 Nisan, in advance of the upcoming Yom Tov of Pesach.
 
One of the ways the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah communicates with Klal Yisroel is through written statements. For many years, the Novominsker Rebbe served as the primary draftsman of such statements. His mastery of Loshon Hakodesh, and his ability to convey thoughts and ideas with precision, elegance and economy, made the Rebbe the natural choice to put the Moetzes's directives into writing. 
 
Of course, that is not to say that the Novominsker Rebbe was the sole author of statements of the Moetzes; other members of the Moetzes would typically review the Rebbe's drafts and offer additions, subtractions or other suggestions. But at the end of the process, the document would largely represent the product of the Rebbe's labors.
 
Which brings us to the Moetzes's most recent 12 Nisan "Michtav Brocha V'chizuk". 
 
Last Thursday afternoon, 8 Nisan, Reb Shloime Werdiger (chairman of Agudah's board of trustees) and I called the Rebbe with a suggestion that the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah issue a pre-Pesach message of chizuk to Klal Yisroel in these unprecedented times. We didn't spell it out, but of course the Rebbe understood that we were asking him to draft such a statement.
 
The Rebbe became extremely emotional on the phone. "I am very shvach and really don't have the koichos to write such a letter, but it's the right thing to do, and I have an achrayus." The Rebbe told us he had two prior public commitments he had to deal with first -- a telephone shiur he was saying that evening for the kehila of Washington Heights, and another telephone shiur, for the mispallelim of his bais medrash, at 12:00 Friday morning -- and that afterwards he would do his best to draft a letter for the Moetzes. 
 
To my amazement, at approximately 10:00 Friday morning I received a call from the Rebbe, telling me that he had decided to work on the text of the letter overnight, and that he would like to read it to me as a proposed Moetzes statement. He then proceeded to dictate his draft statement, four full paragraphs long, which I transcribed.
 
In discussing the draft with Reb Shloime Werdiger, we felt that the letter might benefit through the addition of one other paragraph, and I conveyed this to the Rebbe on a Motzoei Shabbos phone call. The Rebbe agreed that the suggestion we had made was an important one. "I'm not feeling so well and don't have the koiach to work on this tonight," the Rebbe told me, "but b'ezras Hashem I hope to do it tomorrow."
 
And so he did. On Sunday afternoon, 11 Nisan, the Rebbe called me to dictate the additional paragraph we had discussed, as well as several other changes he wanted made to the statement. "That's it, Chaim Dovid, this is what I can do. Please circulate this to as many of the chaveirim of the Moetzes as you can reach, make whatever additional changes they see fit, and let's get it out to the entire tzibbur tomorrow."
 
The turnaround time was tight, but we were able b'H to share and discuss the statement with seven members of the Moetzes, some of whom had minor comments which were incorporated into the statement and all of whom expressed enthusiastic support for the message it embodied. 
 
True to the Rebbe's directive, we finalized the Moetzes's Michtav Brocha V'chizuk and published it, along with a rough English-language translation, on Monday afternoon 12 Nisan. 
 
Then, just hours later, in the early morning of 13 Nisan, we heard the besura lo tova that our heilige Novominsker Rebbe had been taken from us. Gevald! Boruch Dayan Ho'emes. 
 
So what was the Rebbe's parting message to Klal Yisroel? I will not attempt to summarize the many substantive points of the Moetzes statement, but I believe the key point is this:
 
After taking note of the unprecedented circumstances of the day, when all the pain and suffering we are enduring makes it difficult to fathom how we might conceivably fulfill our obligation on Seder night of celebrating Yetzias Mitzraim as a personal contemporary reality, the Moetzes proclaims "Davka Achshov!" -- specifically now we have the opportunity and obligation of celebrating Zman Cheiruseinu, our time of freedom, at a higher level than ever before.
 
For what is cheirus, freedom, in its ultimate sense? Freedom from physical bondage, of course, but so much more: cheirus hanefesh, freedom of the spirit for Torah and mitzvos; cheirus, freedom, to honor Hashem and perform acts of kindness, which is the very purpose of our lives; cheirus, freedom, to have knowledge and fear of Hashem, which is the ultimate destiny of all of creation.
 
Davka achshav, at a time when everything about our lives has changed so dramatically and all our illusions of "normalcy" have been shattered, davka now is when we can gain a higher appreciation of what Zman Cheiruseinu truly entails and reach new levels of personal contemporary Yetzias Mitzraim.
 
The message is profound, and is the Novominsker Rebbe's parting mandate for Klal Yisroel.
 
On Monday early evening, a few short hours after Agudas Yisroel had published the Michtav Brocha V'chizuk of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, I received a phone call from one of the Rebbe's sons. He told me that if someone had told him that his father would be capable of writing such a statement over the past few days when he felt so weak, he would never have believed it. Where did he get the koichos to do it? 
 
Obviously, the son answered, the Rebbe saw this as his special achrayus -- and when an achrayus was incumbent on him, he would summon koichos that otherwise didn't exist and carry out what he understood to be his responsibility.
 
Our loss with the Novominsker Rebbe's petirah is incalculable. One hopes, though, that the Rebbe -- the ultimate ba'al achrayus -- will carry out his new achrayus of being a meilitz yosher for Klal Yisroel from his lofty perch b'ginzei meromim.
 
Ye'hei zichro boruch.
Had COVID-19 and recovered?
 
Your blood can save lives!
 
Agudath Israel is coordinating with volunteers, organizations, and a network of hospitals to identify eligible donors and bring this potentially lifesaving therapy to COVID-19 patients.

Please complete the short survey below to see if eligible to donate blood plasma (the portion containing antibodies) to someone critically suffering from COVID-19.
 
 
Saving lives – it's in our blood.
Virtual Yarchei Kallah Chol Hamoed Program
Agudas Yisroel's pre-pesach Yarchei Kallah was a tremendous success. The program blended beautifully as the Maggidei shiur delivered fiery shiurim to passionate participants eager to learn. 
 
With the learning and growth of the past weeks invigorating us, we are delighted to announce an additional extension to our program for this Chol Hamoed. This coming Sunday through Tuesday, world renowned Maggidei Shiur will be learning with us on Hilchos and Inyanei Sefiras Haomer. 

Rabbi Asher Weiss and Rabbi Lipa Geldwerth will begin the program, on Sunday at 11:30 AM EDT. Following later in the week will be Rabbi Meir Tzvi Spitzer on Monday  at 11:30 AM EDT, and Harav Shraga Kallus, Tuesday 10:30 AM EDT. 

These special Chol HoMoed Yarchei Kallah are l'zeicher nishmas R' Yaakov ben R' Nochum Mordechai, ZTVK"L, the Novominsker Rebbe, Rosh Agudas Yisroel. 

Over the past weeks we have strengthened ourselves in seeing the light of Torah shine on in these dark days. If you haven't participated thus far, now is the time. This Chol Hamoed, use the enforced isolation for a greater purpose. Use the time to give yourself and Klal Yisroel some much needed chizuk in Torah and Avodas Hashem. 

To connect via zoom click here, or call 646-558-8656 login #: 876 513 892   
Statement on Burial Guidelines:
Honor the Dead: Stay Home
Among the many trying challenges we face in these dire times is the sorrow of disconnection from one another, added to the deeper one of personal loss, as we accompany those beloved to us to their resting places.
 
Just as the current times demand that we now pray and study at home, the way to give honor to the dead during this pandemic is by staying at home. That is what the niftar (departed) would have wanted and what Jewish law, which warns us to be extremely careful to guard one's health, demands of us. We therefore must not congregate at funeral homes, shuls, residences or on city streets to pay our respects to the niftar and families.
 
While we honor the departed through proper Jewish burial despite the challenges entailed, we must maintain a balance. We must remain sensitive and committed to serving our bereaved families as fully as possible, while working to ensure their health and safety along with the health and safety of the funeral home and cemetery staff. 
 
We recognize that the burial may provide the only opportunity for family to say Kaddish and be offered proper Nichum Aveilim (comforting of the mourners). Nevertheless, the practices that should be followed at this time are as per the directive of the National Association of Chevra Kadisha. These guidelines should be followed at the cemetery to minimize the risk of exposure and to ensure the safety of all, and can be found here.

Agudath Israel Applauds Inclusion of Faith-Based Nonprofits and Religious Liberty Protections in Covid-19 Assistance Programs

Agudath Israel of America commends the Trump Administration and Congress for their determined and tireless efforts to bring relief to the American people from the manifold ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are particularly grateful that they have worked to incorporate within the CARES Act, and subsequent regulation and guidance, provisions that include faith-based institutions as beneficiaries of the vital programs the federal government will implement to address the severe economic fallout the nation is expected to experience.
 
Our Washington Office, headed by Rabbi Abba Cohen, Vice President for Government Affairs, has worked closely and cooperatively with White House and federal agency officials, Congressional leaders, and other faith-based nonprofits. Together, they have sought to ensure that houses of worship, religious schools and community charities are able to participate fully in the law's newly-designed loan programs, educational assistance and other essential initiatives. The goal of these mutual efforts was to help these entities pay salaries and health care benefits, maintain facilities, and address other critical necessities, as our shuls, yeshivos and day schools, and tzedaka institutions are in dire need of this assistance.
 
We are pleased that not only does the legislation and subsequent administrative material, taken together, make such eligibility explicit but they also provide that participation can be enjoyed without compromise of religious mission, beliefs, activities or autonomy. At the same time, we note that the application of some of these programs within the faith based context is novel and complicated. Thus, in the coming weeks and months, we will continue to monitor implementation to determine whether assistance levels are adequate and whether the letter and spirit of the law are being upheld. If necessary, we will continue to make a strong push, in legislation and regulation, for a full measure of funding and broader standards for full participation of our institutions.
 
It is imperative that our government provide substantial relief to our nonprofit sector, including our religious organizations. Indeed, as federal and state programs are squeezed, nonprofits will be called upon to step up and help address society's most pressing needs. During this crisis, it is crucial that our government do whatever it can to partner with this sector, assist it, and protect it from the same adverse economic winds that will plague other parts of the economy, particularly as its own income sources dry up and its own burdens increase.
 
We provide the following links for important information relating specifically to the rights of faith-based entities participating in CARES Act programs (and we will add to this list as appropriate):
 
Equitable Participation of Nonpublic Schools in the CARES Act Education Stabilization Fund: CARES Act, https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr748/BILLS-116hr748enr.pdf
Sections 18002-3, 18005 (Regulations Pending)
 
Interim Final Rule – Religious Liberty, Religious Employers and Nondiscrimination: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP--IFRN%20FINAL.pdfInterim Final Rule – Affiliation Rules for Faith-Based Organizations, https://www.sba.gov/document/policy-guidance--ppp-affiliation-interim-final-rule
 
FAQs on Participation of Faith-Based Organizations in SBA's PPP and EIDL Programs: https://www.sba.gov/document/support--faq-regarding-participation-faith-based-organizations-ppp-eidl
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