As you may know, a friend of mine, Rav Shlomo Edelman ztz"l, suddenly passed away on Erev Purim leaving a bereaving wife and 12 children [11 of whom are unmarried]. Jews are by nature a merciful people and many asked if the family is now in need. The answer is a resounding yes. Our community members are all being asked to contribute with a strong bracha from the Tolna Rebbe for success in everything for those who do. The problem is that most of the people in our community have little or no money so it is a case of the poor helping the poorer.
I therefore decided to ask everybody I know to take part in this mitzva - and the more the better. Little orphaned Yochanan is two years old and while he will grow up without a father, I see no reason he should also grow up lacking his basic material needs.
I will be in New York tomorrow [for a simcha] until next Wednesday, please G-d, and urge everyone to please contribute. Checks can be made out to Elana Edelman and sent to me either in Manhattan [115 Central Park West] or in Woodmere [130 Oak Street] where I will be for Shabbos.
Yes, you can read this, decide not to contribute, feel pangs of guilt, justify yourself that you have already committed to other worthy causes and move on with your day.
But that won't feed the Edelman orphans.
Love and blessings:-)
PS - If you can get me a meeting with any people of means who would be able to help in a big way, I would greatly appreciate it. Please try to think creatively. The holy books say that if one has more than he needs to live that is a sign from above that the money should be passed on to those who lack the basics.
