A Open Letter

This is a letter I sent to my friends and am reprinting it here so it reaches more friends.


“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes

SHALOM SWEETEST MOST BELOVED FRIENDS!!!!

I am excited to share that our Kollel Iyun HaNefesh is successfully running with an all time high of nine members [which is exactly nine more than we had when we started!]. This was only accomplished thanks to YOU! I often note that the very first word out of the mouth of a Jew every morning is "thanks" and a Jew is called "Yehudi" after Yehuda who is named for the fact that Leah his mother felt gratitude and "thanks" to Hashem. We are a nation of thankers. So THANK YOU ALL!!

This zman we are starting and finishing Maseches Shvuos בעזרת השם. This is in the spirit of Rov Nosson Tzvi Finkel [the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir who was niftar this week] who exhorted his students to cover ground and complete Shas.The fellows will also be writing a summary of the entire Mesechta ensuring retention and clarity. We also have a set mussar seder every single time we learn, making us one of the few kollelim in the world whose members are required to immerse themselves in the works of character improvement and Jewish thought.

We are also about to publish our first sefer of Chiddushei Torah!! The sefer is called "Simchas HaNefesh" and will hopefully be a best seller. Check your New York Times in the next few weeks to see if it made the best seller list:-). As word of our Kollel is spreading we are getting more applicants for whom the common denominator is that we have to turn them all away. The guilty color is green and the guilty material is paper. Not enough green paper.

Anybody who would like to sponsor a kollel fellow for an entire month the cost is a mere [tax deductible] 300 dollars. An entire year would then be 3,600 dollars [if my math is off you know why I went into chinuch and not a profession that deals with numbers]. In return, one receives the merit of his learning and the merit of helping a family in Jerusalem eat. In addition, we would like to publish a second book and dedication opportunities are available. We also daven daily for our donors [if we have their names] including many tfillos at the Kotel by yours truly.

At some point I will be in the United States [this must first be discussed with the Vice President of the Kollel and mother of my children] and would be happy to meet with anyone and also give shiurim anywhere [for free of course. G-d teaches for free, we aspire to emulate Him]. May Hashem bless you all with health, wealth and boundless joy!!

Love and Blessings and תמיד בשמחה,

Elchonon [Ally] Ehrman