Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Fwd: News From Agudah 29 Teives 5784, January 10, 2024

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The Agudah <news@agudah.org>
Date: Wed, Jan 10, 2024, 4:57 PM
Subject: News From Agudah 29 Teives 5784, January 10, 2024
To: <agentemes4@gmail.com>

January 10, 2024 - 29 Teives 5784

In today's News from the Agudah: Chavrei Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah meet in the home of Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky; Gesher makes a unique event in Ohio; enjoy Bnos' Tween Light's chodesh Shevat newsletter; the Ozherover Rebbe's yahrtzeit; and how to increase our limud haTorah in an eis tzoroh.

We wish a hearty mazel tov to our COO, Rabbi and Mrs. Yitzchok Ehrman, on the birth of their daughter today!

Did you get this email as a forward? You can subscribe to the Agudah's updates by clicking here.

Chavrei Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America Meet at the Home of Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky in Philadelphia

This past week, Chavrei Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah held a meeting at the home of Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rosh HaYeshiva of Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia.

Awareness, Knowledge, Action: Gesher Ohio Document Event

Mrs. Chana Barrett and her husband were traveling, having left some of their children at home. Realizing they had no formal documents in place, Mrs. Barrett wondered: "What would happen to our children if something happened to us right now, lo aleinu?" Mrs. Barrett asked her friends and neighbors what plans they had for such a predicament, but nobody had anything in place in case of crisis.

Mrs. Barrett is the director of Gesher, a branch of Agudath Israel of Ohio which assists the Cleveland community with programs and resources. Spurred by this mission, Gesher took on the project of demystifying the critical documents every adult should have and simplifying them for everyone's use.

Click here or see below to read more

Chodesh Shevat Bnos Tween Light Newsletter

Click here to view this month's Tween Light newsletter.

Ozherover Rebbe Yahrtzeit

Tomorrow, Thursday, 1 Shevat, marks the 53^rd yahrtzeit of the Ozherover Rebbe, Rabbi Moshe Yechiel Epstein zt"l. The Ozherover Rebbe was instrumental in the founding of Agudas Yisroel together with Rabbi Meir Shapiro zt"l and Rabbi Meir Don Plotsky zt"l and served as a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in Poland. He emigrated to America to avoid a conflict regarding who should became the rebbe in Ozherov, and subsequently joined the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in America. Upon moving to Eretz Yisroel in 1953, he took on the role as a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah there, making him one of the unique individuals who served on the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in three countries.

Rabbi Labish Becker, Executive Director of Agudas Yisroel, is a grandson of the Ozherover Rebbe. He tells the following story about his holy grandfather:

When the Ozherover Rebbe was making plans to leave Poland, he traveled to Warsaw by train to obtain visas for himself and his family. It was very difficult to secure visas at that time. In those days, it was normal to throw one's apple peels on the ground; but the Ozherover Rebbe carefully put his peels in his pocket to throw them out later. This caught the attention of another passenger, who approached the Ozherover Rebbe and engaged him in discussion. The Rebbe told the other man he was on his way to get a visa; the man was so impressed with the Rebbe's behavior that he told him, "Go to the Embassy, and tell them that I told them to give you a visa." This man was none other than the person in charge of giving out visas; through this hashgachah of Hashem bringing the Ozherover and this man on the train at the same time, and through the Rebbe's scrupulousness in his behavior, he received passage to safety.

Convention Session: Torah Magna Umatzla: Increasing our Limud in an Eis Tzoroh

Click here to watch one of Friday morning's concurrent sessions with Rabbi Shrage Malinowitz and Rabbi Yosef Sonnenshein.

Awareness, Knowledge, Action: Gesher Ohio Document Event, continued:

Last week, Gesher hosted an event titled "AKA: Awareness, Knowledge, Action," a one-stop-shop for filling out three critically important documents. Each attendee received clear information about the documents' purposes and how to fill them out. Of key significance was the on-site notarization, enabling each document to be legally binding immediately. The event also had wallet cards and clear instructions on what to do with completed documents, with over a dozen community volunteers present to answer any questions. The primary document highlighted was the Halachic Medical Directive (HMD), which combines a Living Will with a Medical Power of Attorney, legally giving the authority to someone named in the document to make healthcare decisions in partnership with a rabbi, also named in the document. The HMD preemptively resolves questions about life-sustaining treatments, autopsies, and other end-of-life issues, and ensures all treatment is given according to halachah.

Under normal circumstances, the documents featured are not easily accessible, can be confusing to navigate, and often require fees to fill out. Gesher consulted with attorneys, professionals, and rabbonim to supply these documents free of charge and in a clear manner to the over 400 community members who attended AKA. Additionally, these documents are now available for any new community member and anyone who requests them from Gesher.

Agudah thanks Rabbi Boruch Hirschfeld, Rav, Ahavas Yisroel and Rosh Kollel, Kollel Ateres Chaim Boruch – Torah LIFE Institute, for his support of the AKA event and his attending the event to answer pertinent shailos.

"We are gratified to be able to impact the community in such a tremendous way," said Mrs. Barrett.

"Baruch Hashem, our community is not in the throes of any crisis," said Rabbi Yitz Frank, director of Agudath Israel of Ohio. "But that doesn't lessen the importance of having documents in place so that if a crisis ever does arise, chas v'shalom, everything happens according to our wishes and according to halachah."

To contact Gesher, call 216.862.4559 or email info@geshercleveland.org