Maranan Gedolei Hador, shlit"a at the ceremony marking the opening of the fundraising appeal

ny eal

A Personal MeetingIf one good picture is worth a thousand words, this modest meeting was worth a thousand pictures.

Maran Hagaon Harav Aharon Leib Steinman, shlit"a, went to the home of Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit"a. He went upstairs to Reb Chaim's study, the room where Reb Chaim communes with his Creator, the room where he devotes his time to Torah study and service of Hashem. Not the room where Reb Chaim receives audiences, answers questions and gives advice but the personal, pri-vate room, where Reb Chaim is Reb Chaim, with his awesome greatness and incomparable humility.

What do two Gedolei Hador do during their private time? What do they do when not in the presence of an audience or cameras, with-out people clamoring at their doors, during moments when they can be each other's sole company?

They discuss Kupat Ha'ir.

Why? There's no answer to this question. It's impossible for human logic to fathom. At such personal, private moments, the Gedolei Hador devote their attention to Kupat Ha'ir. They pen a letter and write that " all contributors to Ku-pat Ha'ir are assured a good, sweet year." They make sure this letter will be made public so that it

will inspire Yidden to contribute. They want to be sure that they personally did everything in their power to aid the many needy people supported by Kupat Ha'ir.

Peeking Through the CracksDown below, people crowded around the door. Countless people who would have paid a for-tune to be there, to have the merit of peeking in through the window, like the residents of Meretz who took turns climbing up a ladder to watch the saintly Vilna Gaon study Torah during his historic visit to their city.

If they had reached the window at the second floor, what would they have seen?

Two Gedolim leaning intently over the table, their heads nearly touching as they devoted their time and attention to one thing: Kupat Ha'ir.

Sometimes, massive gatherings are super-fluous. Sometimes there is no need for flow-ery, impressive speeches delivered via micro-phone, for recording systems, videotaping or sound files. Sometimes all you need is to peep through a doorway and watch how qui-etly, quietly, during the Gedolei Hador's most personal time with one another, rather than wish one another a good and sweet year, rath-er than toiling over a difficult tosafos, rather

With a

Small Sound

Maran Hagaon Harav Aharon Leib Steinman, shlit”a, during his historic visit to the private room of Maran Hagaon Harav Kanievsky, shlit”a, which

was dedicated to the topic of Kupat Ha’ir.

Maran Hagaon Harav Aharon Leib Steinmvisit to the private room of Maran Hagaon

was dedicated to the topic

man, shlit”a, during his historicn Harav Kanievsky, shlit”a, whichc of Kupat Ha’ir.

than discuss a communal problem affecting all of Am Yisrael – they sit shoulder to shoul-der and write, "… all contributors to Kupat Ha'ir are assured a good, sweet year." That's all it takes.

A Still, Small VoiceIt is only when you see the inconceivably strong power of silence, of actions carried out far from the limelight, that you understand their infinite strength. Lo bera'ash Hashem. Mortal man ?? They are only messengers, agents. They are only the rab-banim of Kupat Ha'ir, or its gabba'im. But they had the merit of standing a hairsbreadth away from an occasion that was a "still, small sound," and they felt a strong, desperate desire to remove their shoes from their feet. This place was holy. These unique moments would remain etched in their hearts for-ever. An indescribable majesty hovered over the en-tire scene.

Perhaps it was only now, during these awesome

moments, that those present understood what had taken place before their very eyes the previous year, when Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit"a, visited the home of Maran Hagaon Harav Shmuel Halevi Wosner, shllit"a, on erev Rosh Hasha-nah. That occasion, too, was a personal visit with-out the anticipated presence of cameras and video recording. It was not a visit intended for the eyes of the public or even private individuals. It was not an impressive gathering or a planned historic event. Just a few private moments for two Gedolei Hador. And yet, there, too…

A Personal Meeting What did Rav Kanievsky and Rav Wosner, shlit"a, do? They discussed Kupat Ha'ir…

"It is in the merit of Kupat Ha'ir that we live here today," Rav Kanievsky, shlit"a, said at the time. Not as a reasonable likelihood but as a cut-and-dried fact. There are so many tzaros, so many tragedies. What keeps the Jewish

Maran Hagaon Harav Shmuel Halevi Wosner and Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit"a, contributing

together to Kupat Ha'ir – erev Rosh Hashanah 5769

Hagaon Harav Shmuel Halevi Wosner and Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit"a, contributing er to Kupat Ha'ir – erev Rosh Hashanah 5769

Maran Hagaon H

togethe

People in Eretz Yisrael in the face of the sev-enty wolves eager to snap us up in their jaws and devour us whole? What protects us from a second Holocaust, G-d forbid? Kupat Ha'ir.

When that is the way they perceive Kupat Ha'ir, when that is their attitude, it is perfectly obvious that out of all the important issues on the agen-da, out of all the important communal matters to be discussed, out of all the affairs in which the Gedolei Hador are involved – Rav Wosner and Rav Kanievsky, shlit"a, sit and discuss Kupat Ha'ir.

At the time, we reported what had been said. We knew that something very great had transpired. But we didn't know to what extent this was true.

Now, when the same scene replayed itself, when once again a private meeting took place between two Gedolei Hador, and once again, the only (!!!) topic under discussion was Kupat Ha'ir – now we began to understand the mag-nitude of what we were seeing.

All questions have already been asked. All answers

have already been provided. The Gedolei Hador per-ceive Kupat Ha'ir as their personal obligation be-ing fulfilled in the best possible way. They see it as the salvation of today's generation, as the body re-sponsible for preventing families from "spilling out" onto the streets. Kupat Ha'ir prevents the crack in the dam, which has long ago grown larger than the width of a finger, from causing the collapse of the entire dam and bringing terrible destruction upon many, many families.

The Gedolei Hador see how enormously effective Kupat Ha'ir is. They see the unique manner in which it is managed, the way their instructions are obeyed implicitly and the manner in which it strives to meet the goals they themselves have set. Still, none of this provides a satisfactory answer to the question of why the first matter the Gedolei Hador discuss when they meet one another on such rare occasions – is Kupat Ha'ir.

A Joint Venture – Joint Nachas

These meetings provide another answer, aston-ishingly powerful, to this question. The Gedolei Hador see Kupat Ha'ir as their joint venture, dear to both their hearts. The Gedolei Hador are hu-man, too; they have basic human natures just like the rest of us. They're on a loftier, more exalted level, to be sure; they focus exclusively on serv-ing Hashem to the best of their ability, but still… they're human beings, not angels. On the occa-sion of a personal meeting between two Gedolei Hador, it is only natural that Kupat Ha'ir come up as a topic of mutual interest, like a diamond in which they each have an equal share. Kupat Ha'ir is the "joint nachas" of Rav Woner and Rav Kanievsky, shlit"a. It is also the joint nachas of Rav Steinman and Rav Kanievsky, shlit"a. Most amazing of all is the fact that Kupat Ha'ir is a major preoccu-pation of theirs even during the holy time of erev Rosh Hashanah.

When two Gedolei Hador meet, Kupat Ha'ir is here with them. It belongs to the two of them. It's close to their hearts; it's an inseparable part of the communication between them.

י"ז אלול תשס"ט

היות והנצרכים רבו למאוד, הננו שוב בבקשה לאחינו בני ישראל להוסיף בתרומותיהם עבור קופת העיר, המפרנסת

אלפי משפחות עניים

וכל התורמים לקופת העיר, מובטחים שיזכו לשנה טובה ומתוקה בלא שום מרעין בישין ובזכות הצדקה המהודרת ביותר יכתבו ויחתמו לאלתר לחיים

טובים ולשלו' ביום הדין הבעל"ט

17 Elul 5769

Since the number of needy people has grown greatly, we appeal once again to our Jewish brethren to contribute more to Kupat Ha’ir, which supports thousands of poor families

And all contributors to Kupat Ha’ir are assured that they will merit a good, sweet year with no

distress or serious ailments.

And in the merit of the most mehudar tzedakah, may they be inscribed and signed immediately for a good life and for peace on the upcoming Day of Judgment.

Maran Hagaon Harav Aharon Leib Steinman, shlit"a, and Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit"a, contributing together to Kupat Ha'ir.

The Source for:

Reb Chaim, a distinguished Jew and a not-ed ba'al tzedakah, wanted to raise public funds for a certain important matter.

He deliberated: how best to persuade the public to open their hearts – and pockets?

Reb Chaim prepared a large pushka and emblazoned it with the words "I Contrib-uted and Merited Salvation." They say that that's what works on the public in today's generation. Reb Chaim himself was not an enthusiastic supporter of this method, but you've got to talk to people in their own language. That's what people experi-

enced in the field had told him.

"Where's the pushka?" Maran asked him.

An Amazing Story from the Room of Maran Hagaon Harav Aharon Leib Steinman, shlit"a.When the moment came for Reb Chaim to present the pushka he had fashioned, with the words "I Contributed and Merited Salvation," his hands turned leaden. He was so filled with shame that he simply couldn't bring himself to show Maran the pushka. How could he stand before this saintly tzaddik whose only interest in this world is serving his Creator, and show him a pushka with such a petty in-scription addressing man's selfish side? How could he tell Rav Steinman that nowadays, to persuade people to give a modest contribution to others, you've got to come up with a clever ploy to convince potential contributors there's something in it for them?

"Well, where's the pushka?" others in the room urge.

Faced with no choice, Reb Chaim presented the pushka, the words "I Merited Salvation" mocking him mutely.

He felt he could not bear the shame. He wanted Maran to know that this wasn't really his style. Gesturing at the words, he said apologetically, "There's no way around it. They say that's what talks to people nowadays…"

Maran Hagaon Harav Steinman read the slogan carefully, raised his eyes to meet Reb Chaim's and asked, "Are you more righteous than our holy Torah?"

A shocked silence filled the room. What did Maran mean?

Rav Steinman went on, his voice clear and strong. "It is writ-ten, Paso'ach tiftach… yadecha venasata… lema'an yevare-checha Hashem Elokecha.' The holy Torah promises explic-itly: Contribute and you will merit yeshuos!"

Reb Chaim left the room, pushka in hand and an expres-

sion of astonishment on his face.

"I contributed and I merited salvation," is not a modern-day invention. It is not a distorted idea. "Contribute – and Merit Yeshuos" appears in the Torah itself, and no less a personage than Maran Hagaon Harav Aharon Leib Steinman, shlit"a, made the clear connection.

So, Reb Chaim, the time has come to change your old way of thinking. You used to be full of scorn, used to look down at the naive fools who fell for this gimmick. If you don't believe – go to the holy Torah and look. We're not talking Torah codes here; just read the explicit verses. The Ribono shel Olam wrote the Torah and gave it to us; it was He Who wrote, "Lma'an yevarechecha Hashem."

Zu mitzvah vezu secharah: it is a matter of cause and effect.

You thought, Reb Chaim, that one who gives tzedakah with the hope of meriting a yeshuah is a little bit naïve, the kind of person easily lured by persuasive advertising. You thought it was improper to give tzedakah with that kind of a side agenda.

You are a Jew who lives by the Torah. You would never dream of doubting just one part of the Torah. From now on, you, too, will contribute and merit yeshuos. From now on, you, too, will use this method.

If one consumes forbidden food, damage is caused to his soul. You believe that.

One who is careful to tithe his income – becomes wealthy. You believe that. After all, Hashem Himself promises it.

One who honors his parents lives a long life. You believe that. It says so explicitly in the pasuk. One who gives tzedakah – sees yeshuos. From now on, you believe that, too, with the same intensity. Venasata laLevi… lema'an yevarechecha…"

This idea is not a Kupat Ha'ir marketing campaign. Maran, shlit"a, personally gave the holy pesukim this unequivocal interpretation.

Drop the scorn. It's not naiveté. It's not advertising. It's not brainwashing. It's not "today's generation." Divrei Elokim chaim.

The thousands of letters flooding Kupat Ha'ir's offices are the best testimony. Ask your friends and neighbors if they've ever merited a yeshuah after contributing to Kupat Ha'ir. Anyone who contributes to Kupat Ha'ir sees these lofty words come true in a tangible way.

This brochure contains neither lies nor exaggerations. Nothing has been changed. People contribute, merit yeshuos and pay their pledges to Kupat Ha'ir. Thousands of contributions arrive along with a letter telling the story of a yeshuah.

The Torah made a promise. And the Torah delivers. Thousands of people have contributed and seen yeshuos. Won't you, too, join this incredible wellspring of blessing?

Does not this wonderful, G-dly truth surpass false exaggerations?

Chapter 1: Defrosting ChickenListen to this story, randomly selected from a folder. We actually want you to pick up the phone and call the people involved, a wonderful family of G-d fearing bnei Torah and hear from them, too, how perfectly accurate the story is.

Every household has some erev Pesach days on which it seems order will never be restored. Wherever you look there are rags and stray objects no one seems to know where to put away. The table is cluttered and

not a single chair is free.

Mrs. D stood in middle of the mess and emptied the contents of her fridge onto the table

and counter. She removed the shelves and drawers, dipped a rag into a basin filled with cleaning solution and got to work. Fortunately, even exhausting jobs such as this eventually come to an end. After many hours, with the chickens on the counter showing severe signs of defrosting, Mrs. D was ready to return everything to the fridge.

She placed sheets of newspaper on the clean-for-Yom Tov shelves, stuck the plug into the socket, and – the kitchen remained strangely quiet.

Mrs. D removed the plug and stuck it in again. The fridge gave a light sigh – and that was it. The D’s decided to wait half an hour and try again. Apparently, Mrs. D. had been a bit overzealous with her cleaning and the thermostat or the motor or the who-knows-what had been affected.

The D’s phoned a repairman. He was flooded with work. "You'll have to wait your turn, ma'am." He'd be able to come only the following day. In any case, the job would cost a minimum of NIS 250.

It was upsetting news. Who wants to spend NIS 250 on an unexpected repair, especially on erev Pesach, when money seems to be going like water? The D family decided to promise fifty shekels to Kupat Ha'ir if they wouldn't have to pay a repairman.

You think you can figure out the end of the story. Your guess is that the fridge suddenly began

working just before the repairman arrived.

Don't jump to conclusions.

The chickens were already completely defrosted. The milk and cheese went to the neighbors. The kitchen was complete chaos and the fridge was still on strike. The D’s realized they had no choice; they needed a repairman urgently. Apparently, their contribution to Kupat Ha'ir had not been effective this time.

But they soon saw that they weren't the only ones who needed a repairman urgently. No one had time for them! Everyone they tried was busy. Mrs. D's cries about her meat and chicken were to no avail. In the end, late at night, one repairman finally agreed to come.

The repairman removed some screws and peeked into the refrigerator's innards. With each passing moment, he reported another problem that needed to be fixed. The cost of repairing the fridge ballooned quickly and soon the expected NIS 250 became an unbearable NIS 400.

Mrs. D was furious with herself for her carelessness. Her husband's face was grim as he tried to figure out where he might come up with the necessary 400 shekels. Their pledge to Kupat Ha'ir – NIS 50 if we don't have to pay a repairman – hovered in the air. How foolish. How illogical. Well, Kupat Ha'ir would lose out this time…

Chapter 2: "I Have Wealthy Friends…"The repairman took apart the thermostat and brought spare parts from his car. He welded a new wire near the motor. He happened to have a new shelf instead of one that he'd noticed was cracked, too. As he worked, he conversed with Mr. D.

"How many children do you have?" he inquired.

"Seven."

The repairman, who was not religious, looked around in shock. The apartment was completely still. "Seven? You're pulling my leg."

"Come have a look," said Mr. D, gesturing to the two children's bedrooms. The repairman went to the bedrooms, where the D family's seven small children lay in peaceful slumber. He stared in wonder at the four-bed high-riser that filled the room from wall to wall, noted the crib and porta-crib – both with full occupancy – and returned to the refrigerator in shock.

He replaced the plastic part covering the thermostat and declared, "If that's the case, this repair is free."

The Ds looked at him in confusion.

"I'm not going to charge you," the repairman repeated, the hum of the refrigerator as it began to work proving he'd done his job well.

Mr. D, completely taken aback, murmured his thanks. What was going on? The repairman had agreed to come only because they'd begged and pleaded. But the drama was not yet over.

The man collected his tools and stuck his hand in his pocket. "I have wealthy friends in Jaffa," he said to the shocked couple. "They give me money to distribute to families who need it. You have small children. Take this, buy them food."

He withdrew NIS 250 - precisely the sum the D’s had originally thought they'd have to pay a repairman – stuck it into Mr. D's hands and left.

The D’s stared in shock at the bills the repairman had given them. The promise they'd made to Kupat Ha'ir provided their only explanation: Fifty shekels to Kupat Ha'ir if we don't have to pay a repairman…

03-5786568

The MatchmakerSometimes, money comes in miraculous ways and sometimes a parnassah pipeline opens. In the words of the pasuk, "Pasoach tiftach…yevarechecha… b’chol mishloach yadcha…"

Mrs. B's story is one example of a phenomenon that many, many letters to Kupat Ha'ir prove has become quite widespread.

People identify with the pain of singles seeking a shidduch, but for some reason, no one feels especially sorry for shadchanim who aren't encountering success.

Mrs. B, a professional matchmaker, has no other source of livelihood. She receives no paycheck at the end of the month; she has no salary to speak of. The shidduchim she sees to completion are her means of supporting her family.

It is with this money that she buys the children shoes and pays the electric bill and repairs the oven when it goes on the blink.

If there are no shidduchim, there is no money. In contrast to many other female matchmakers, Mrs. B is neither a gossip nor overly talkative. She works on shidduchim in an honest, pleasant manner; she sees her occupation as a zechus, as holy work. But her pipeline of parnassah seemed to have developed a sudden blockage. She hadn't made a single shidduch since the beginning of the year! Every night, she devoted hours to her craft, making phone calls and meeting prospective clients. Somehow, though, every time it seemed something was going well and a shidduch was in the offing, something went awry. Even when everything seemed so perfect, a grandparent suddenly objected to the shidduch or one of the mechutanim demanded that the other commit to

supporting the couple for three full years after the wedding.

Cheshvan slipped by and Kislev was in full swing. Mrs. B did not despair. She stubbornly continued trying to make shidduchim. By Teves, checks were bouncing and by Nisan, true despair had set in.

She had not completed a single shidduch since the beginning of the year! Every morning, Mrs. B brought up the morning paper and checked the engagements. She recognized many of the names. She was familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, with what they were looking for. In some cases, she had spoken with the teachers and principals of the girls or devoted a significant amount of time trying to persuade one of the parties. They had all gotten engaged without her playing any role in the happy developments, which meant there was no forthcoming shadchanus, which meant she had no livelihood. It isn't easy being a shadchan: many times, really hard work yields no compensation.

Pesach passed, leaving a huge dent in her pocketbook. On 27 Iyar, along with the daily paper, Mrs. B brought up a Kupat Ha'ir brochure. She read the brochure, printed in honor of the upcoming holiday of Shavuos. Mrs. B is a believing woman and she knows that a person's livelihood is not dependent on the opinion of one young man or another or the degree of compatibility between two mechutanim. It occurred to her that maybe Hashem was waiting for her tzedakah that would bring yeshuos and good tidings in its wake. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, she declared: If I complete a shidduch within one month from today – that is, by 27 Sivan – I'll contribute NIS 100 to Kupat Ha'ir.

In late Sivan, a small sheet of paper from Mrs. B the matchmaker's notebook arrived at the Kupat Ha'ir offices. After eight months during which she hadn't completed a single shidduch, she finished two shidduchim within a month of her pledge to Kupat Ha'ir and received generous shadchanus as compensation. She enclosed a contribution to the tune of NIS 100 along with a request for many more broken plates in the near future.

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When Does a Non-believer Contribute to Kupat Ha'ir?When a contribution arrives from a chareidi

matchmaker, no eyebrows are raised, but how often does Kupat ha'ir receive a contribution from someone who does not live his life according to halachah?

This story was told by Rav K, a distinguished talmid chacham who had to visit a rather unpleasant place known as a dental clinic.

The dentist, a secular fellow, switched on his drill and began chatting with K, who, of course, was unable to reply with his mouth wide open.

"Tell me, have you ever heard of Kupat Ha'ir?" he asked.

Rav K nodded and blinked in an effort to indicate that yes, he was indeed familiar with Kupat Ha'ir.

It was a good thing he couldn't really talk because it turned out the dentist was really quite ticked off.

"My assistant drives me up a wall," he grumbled as he worked. "He's chareidi; he's been working here for a few months now. I ask him to take an x-ray and it doesn't come out clear, you know what he says? "Five shekels to Kupat Ha'ir so the x-ray should come out clear." He wants to go home early – "Eighteen shekels to Kupat Ha'ir if the last patient doesn't show up." He misplaced his ID card – "Thirty-six shekels to Kupat Ha'ir." His wife was hospitalized – "A hundred eighty shekels to Kupat Ha'ir if she's discharged within two days." Enough! I keep telling him he's too smart to allow himself to be brainwashed like that, but he just smiles and says, "Boss, you fix people's teeth and let me give as much tzedakah as I like without interfering."'

The dentist kept working, effectively preventing Rav K from responding. Soon the job would be done and he'd be on his way.

Suddenly, the drill emitted a strange noise. The drill bit, a tiny part, had broken off and gotten stuck in Rav K's

fresh filling.

It was getting hard for Rav K to keep his mouth open so long. The dentist was no longer chatting now. He was concentrating intently on trying to recapture the tiny part of his drill that was stuck in Rav K's tooth.

He brought a pair of tweezers, and a magnet, and what not. He stuck his fingers inside Rav K's mouth and tried the suction. The tiny bit remained stuck in the tooth, refusing to budge.

The dentist called for his colleague from the adjoining room to come help him, but he, too, soon despaired.

"You know what?" said Rav K, eager to be on his way. "Let's make a deal. If you hadn't mentioned Kupat Ha'ir, I wouldn't have thought of it, but let's try it! We'll jointly contribute one hundred shekels to Kupat Ha'ir. If the bit comes out, we each contribute fifty shekels."

"Don’t tell me you buy that nonsense, too," the dentist replied, rising from his chair. "You've all gone crazy!"

"Okay, I see you want to spend the next two hours crouched over my tooth," Rav K said, trying to make peace with the idea.

Apparently, the dentist didn't like the sound of that. "You know what?" he countered, softening. "Let's make up a time. Ten minutes. If the foreign object stuck in your tooth comes out within the next ten minutes, I agree to the deal."

Nine and a half minutes ticked by on the large clock in the room. After nine and a half minutes… the miracle occurred.

The dentist stared at the clock in amazement.

"You know," he said finally, "I'm a fool. Why did I agree to the deal? It's your tooth, after all. I should have let you pay the hundred shekels on your own. If I'm going to contribute fifty shekels to Kupat Ha'ir, and if doing so really works in such an amazing way – I should ask for various personal matters that need to work out for me!"

And then an envelope arrived at Kupat Ha'ir with two fifty-shekel bills: one from Rav K and the other from the dentist. Hashem wanted to prove to him, the non-believer, that the merit of tzedakah saves and protects, loosens stuck drill bits, solves his assistant's problems and his as well.

050-4141102

How Come A Contribution Doesn't Always Help?Fifty shekels solved a problem at a dental clinic. Why, then, did an $800 contribution to Kupat Ha'ir fail to bring immediate results?

The bus was very crowded. Reb Moshe sat in the front

seat, his facial expression giving no indication of the stone on his heart. An apartment. An apartment. An apartment. His thoughts centered on those two words the entire time.

A few months earlier, he had sold his apartment in a project in order to purchase a large apartment in Bnei Brak. In the meantime, time was ticking by, prices were going up, and he had yet to find a spacious apartment at a reasonable price.

To avoid suddenly finding that he was devoting entire days to apartment hunting, Reb Moshe restricted his search for a suitable apartment to evenings only. Over the past few months, Reb Moshe had seen fifth-floor apartments, tiny basement apartments, old apartments that smelled of mildew – or beautiful apartments whose owners wanted "beautiful" prices.

In the meantime, he had no choice but to pay a rather steep rental fee for his Bnei Brak apartment and he couldn't really afford it.

Sitting on the bus, Reb Moshe found himself unburdening his heart to his friend sitting in the seat next to him. The fellow listened sympathetically, nodding in understanding at Reb Moshe's distress over the fact that hundreds of dollars earmarked for a new apartment were going down the drain in the form of rental fees.

"Maybe you should try Kupat Ha'ir," his friend suggested. "Instead of paying a brokerage fee, make up your mind that Hashem will be your broker, and trust him to bring you an apartment quickly and effectively."

Reb Moshe's sense of helplessness and urgency motivated him to make a pledge on the spot. Right there on the bus, Reb Moshe pledged $1000 to tzedakah.

To whom should he give $1000? It was a rather large sum, by all means.

Reb Moshe decided to deviate from his bus companion's suggestion and give the $1000 to a needy relative.

"Fine, but that's not what we discussed," his friend chided him the following day when they met on the bus again. "I suggested you contribute to Kupat Ha'ir."

"What difference does it make?" Reb Moshe asked. "It's tzedakah, isn't it?"

"Are you trying to compare the ko'ach harabbim, the ko'ach of all of Klal Yisrael, to the ko'ach of a single person? Kupat Ha'ir saves thousands of people! Listen to me; you won't be sorry. You would pay more than $1000 in brokerage fees. Contribute an additional sum to Kupat Ha'ir!"

Reb Moshe felt he didn't have much choice. He was overtaken by despair and fear that the money he had set aside for the purpose of purchasing an apartment

would all be frittered away on rental payments. He therefore made another pledge, right there on the bus: he would contribute $800 to Kupat Ha'ir in the hope that in the merit of tzedakah, he'd find an apartment.

That very evening, Reb Moshe went to the home of one of the gabba'im of Kupat Ha'ir. He handed him the large sum and waited for a miracle.

A week and a half passed and no miracle was forthcoming. The pressure intensified. He felt he had done every possible type of hishtadlus. The following morning, as he removed his tefillin in shul, he saw the gabbai.

"Did you submit my contribution yet?" he inquired.

"I'm so sorry," the gabbai apologized. "You envelope is still in my suit pocket. I haven't had the chance yet to drop it off."

Reb Moshe asked for his envelope back. Although he had been careful, until now, to do everything related to his apartment-hunt in the evenings only, he hurried over to the offices of Kupat Ha'ir. He wanted to personally deliver his contribution. He ran up the metal stairs leading to the offices and handed the envelope to one of the secretaries. He and no other.

That afternoon, he learned of a very special apartment going for a bargain price. He curbed his desire to run right over and waited until evening, so as not to upset his learning sedarim. That night, Reb Moshe purchased his house. The excitement with which he penned the letter to Kupat Ha'ir is palpable between the lines.

Imagine if something like that were to happen to you. Months of searching, hours of effort, and then, on the day you make a contribution to Kupat Hair – you find the house in which you and your family will live for many years to come. Would you not sense the amazing power of contributing to Kupat Ha'ir? Be smart and learn from the experience of others. Reb Moshe is willing to share his story. His phone number is right here:

03-6185298.Another few words in summary, if you please:

Statistics show that there are three types of people:

One contributes and merits yeshuos.

One is a skeptic who looks for holes in every story.

And one is a "she'eino yodaya likro" who doesn't even pick up the brochure.

Pasoach tiftach - bareich yevarechecha Hashem….

Make sure you emulate the wise son.

To be assured a gooNames and requests may be submitted

All names suKupat Ha'ir's teleBy 8:00 AM on er

Will be presented b to Maranan Gedolei Vetzadikei Hador,

ood and sweet yeared 24 hours a day at 1-888-587-2842

submitted to elephone hotlineerev Yom Kippur

d before Kol Nidreior, shlit"a, that they may pray for them

The sum of .......................................................................................................................

On a monthly basis, For............................................................ months

One time donation .........................................................................................

Credit card # ......................................................................................................................

Expiration date .......................................... CVC ......................................................

Name .......................................................................................................................................

Address .................................................................................................................................

Tel ................................................................................................................................................

Signature: ............................................................................................................................

FOR DONATIONS BY CREDIT CARD

Name ............................................................................................................................

Address: .....................................................................................................................

City, State & Zip....................................................................................................

Phone #:.......................................................................................................................

Amount:...................... How many Months:............................................

Bank Routing #: ...................................................................................................

Account #:................................................................................................................

Signature: ...............................................................................................................

FOR DONATIONS BY DIRECT BANK WITHDRAWAL

Donations can be sent to:

Rabbi Chaim Leib Epstein Shlita 1608 46th Street

Brooklyn, New York 11204

Rabbi Shlomo Feivel Schustal Shlita

1043 East 17th StBrooklyn, NY 11230-4412

Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser Shlita

1336 East 21st StreetBrooklyn, New York York 11210

Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg Shlita

568 Kensington Place Cedarhurst, N.Y. 11516

Rabbi Chaim Schabes Shlita 7 Barrie Drive

Spring Valley NY 10977

Rabbi Aron Schechter Shlita

1248 East 12th StreetBrooklyn, New York 11230

Kupat Hair4415 14th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11219

Rabbi Malkiel Kotler Shlita

521 5th StreetLakewood, New Jersey 08701

Home of Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum Ztl

1795 East 7th StreetBrooklyn, New York 11223

Rabbi Moshe Wolfson Shlita

1574 43rd StreetBrooklyn, New York 11219

Rabbi Don Blumberg Shlita

4 Yale DriveMonsey, NewYork 10952

Rabbi Ephraim E. Shapiro Shlita

971 NE 172nd StreetNorth Miami Beach FL. 33162

To my dear friends, gabba’im

of Kupat Ha’ir, shlit”a:

I see fit to inform you that I went in to my father

and teacher, shlit”a, and showed him all the names of

the contributors to Kupat Ha’ir. I told him that the

contributors asked that he mention their names during

the aseres yemei teshuva. He told me to leave the names

on his desk (where he learns) and not to remove them

until after the aseres yemei teshuva. He later added that

he offered a separate tefilla for the contributors to Kupat

Ha’ir, because the greatness of the merit of contributing to

Kupat Ha’ir cannot be estimated.

Shaul ben Hagaon

Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a

Shaul

HaHaH rav Chaim Kani

פדיון נפשSpecial testimony from the Son of Hagaon

Harav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a

For children:

For a refuah sheleima (speedy recovery):

For zivug hagun (worthy mate):

Parnassah (livelihood) with ease:

Nachas from children:

Other:

To: Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky Please daven that I be inscribed

for a sweet, good year

Please fill in your Hebrew name and mother‘s Hebrew name

Messengers of Kupat Ha'ir will

pray on behalf of contributors

at the Kosel Hama'aravi starting

from candlelighting time on

Rosh Hashanah eve all the way

through the time of the Ne'ilah

prayer on Yom Kippur, without

a moment's letup.

Every single moment of the

Ten Days of Repentance, you

will be prayed for at the Kosel

Hama'aravi.

t Ha'ir willntributors ravi starting

Names may be submitted until midnight on Tuesday, 28 Elul.

Minimum contribution of $150.

d until midnight 8 Elul.

Please pray on my behalf

on erev Rosh Hashanahthat I be inscribed and signed for a

good and sweet yearImmediately for a good

life and for peace

To theGedolei Hador shlit"a:

Name: ______________________________

Request:_____________________________

Name: ______________________________

Request:_____________________________

CALL OUR 24 HOUR TZEDAKAH HOT LINE

1-888-KUPATHAIR5 8 7 2 8 4 2

For all information or to receive a pushka call 1-800-233-2188 Our office number in Israel: 3-671-6994