This charity is based in Bnai Brak, and apparently enjoys the leadership and control of a number of eminent Rabbanim - Harav Wosner, Harav Chaim Kanievsky, Harav M. Y. Lifkovitz, Harav A.L. Steinman,Harav Nissim Karelitz, and others. The leaflet is filled with gushing stories of the support of the Gedolim for this tsedaka, although it is a bit thin on what the money is spent on. Contributors are promised that "On Zos Chanukah 5765, the gedolei hador shlit"a, will pray for all the names that have come in by Wednesday, Zos Chanukah."
What is highlighted as an example of the efficacy of their prayers? A sick person who received a refuah shelemah b'nefesh u'baguf? A widow? An orphan? Nope. See the box on p.10 (unnumbered):
"AT the conclusion of the meeting, the gedolim were presented with the name of a contributor from the United States who had, only two days earlier, donated $18,000 to Kupat Ha'ir. The man, who was facing a trial for tax evasion to the tune of millions of dollars, had requested that the rabbanim, shlit"a, pray for him.Do I have to comment?????????
The gedolim took the sheet of paper and began praying for his success.
Two days before Rosh Chodesh Ellul ..... the United States government decided to drop the charges against him. ..... "It is clearly yad Hashem" the man cried out. He contributed an additional $3,600 in gratitude to Hashem for his rescue. In this case, it was clearly evident that a tzaddik's prayer makes an impression in Shamayim."
4 comments:
I agree! I actually found this site while looking for a way to contact Kupat Ha'Ir and complain. Is this what our gedolim daven for?? Is this the standard of Jews today? One of our biggest problems is of cheating the government. No gadol that I know of will endorse such a chillul HASHEM. My only response is that the story never happened, the tzedaka does not know that the story is in the pamphlet, and some marketing executive has confused priorities.
It gets better. I know the brochure you're talking about; a stack of them were dropped off at our yeshiva, Zichron Aryeh in Cedarhurst. Look closely at the images; many of them are fakes. (Count fingers, or examine the angle of light sources.) A friend called and was told, essentially, that the pictures 'could be true,' in other words, this tzadik could give money to KH immediately after lighting a menora. Not that he did, but he could.
It's June 2005 now, and their Shavuos edition has more fake images.
I'm trying to find their 990 form online; charities are required to publish them, or so I've read. I don't give them money; if you need to lie to me, that means you don't have real accomplishments, or at least someone in a decision making position is fine with lying. Either way, there are other, more worthy charities.
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For some information on Kupat Ha'ir see the following link:
http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5762/beshalach/akuptir.htm
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