By Rafi Chemel
Over the past year, Aleph’s newly formed Project 432 has begun offering shiurim and workshops in yeshivos across the community. The purpose of the program? To give students the proper perspective and foresight as they begin to navigate financial decision-making. So far, over 1,150 students have benefited from these presentations, and according to Project 432, that is just the beginning.
The Aleph Institute was founded to respond to the needs of those impacted by incarceration and the criminal justice system. But with Project 432, Aleph aims to offer a revolutionary way of dealing with the issue – by preventing these unfortunate situations from occurring in the first place. “Even one person in our community interacting with the criminal justice system is one too many,” says Rabbi Zvi Boyarsky, Aleph’s director of national policy and a driving force behind the initiative. “The fallout is enormous and devastating, and the saddest part of it all is that so many of those cases could have been prevented. Project 432 is our effort to address the core of the issue.”
This model of preventative education and awareness has been an aspiration of Aleph since its inception more than four decades ago. When Aleph’s founder, Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, together with Judge Jack Weinstein, came to the Rebbe and shared their plans to advocate at the Federal Sentencing Committee for fairer prison sentencing, the Rebbe responded, “May you go from strength to strength and to reach the time when there will be no prisons, only preventative education, to prevent people from going astray from the right way.”
With the launch of Project 432, this aspiration is becoming a reality. “We always knew it was core to our mission,” says Rabbi Aaron Lipskar, Aleph’s CEO. “While we have created different educational programs and materials in the past, Project 432 is the most comprehensive and far-reaching program in this effort. We are excited to be turning the Rebbe’s vision into reality.”
Rabbi Levi Landa, who directs Project 432, explains that although the project was born out of Aleph’s experience within the criminal justice system, it is about much more than preventing crime. “Ultimately, we want to shine a light on the Torah’s perspective on honesty, integrity, and financial responsibility. Once that becomes our guide, so many issues surrounding legal and ethical behavior will never crop up in the first place.”
The very name ‘Project 432’ is an allusion to that goal. According to the Chinuch – the 13th-century work that lays out all mitzvos as they appear in the Torah – the 432nd commandment is the mitzvah to be in constant awe of Hashem and understand that all actions are met with either reward or punishment. Guided by that principle, Project 432’s message is that, as Jews, our commitment to honesty and integrity is a natural outcome of our dedication to our Creator.
Through podcasts, articles, presentations, and other educational content, Project 432 aims to spread its message to everyone – from middle school students to working professionals and community rabbonim. Of course, the conversation is different for each audience the project targets. “We believe that there is a way to talk about this subject at every age and stage,” says Rabbi Yossi Charytan from the project’s education team. “Building an ethical muscle starts at a young age and is something that can and should be exercised throughout life.”
For adolescents, the team developed a stand-alone presentation – the “Compass Workshop” – that could be brought to any yeshiva or high school. “Yeshiva and high school students are going through a unique phase,” explains Landa. “They are begging to gain independence and make financial decisions for themselves, but often know very little about the potential consequences of those decisions.” The goal of the presentation is to “impress upon them to make those decisions informed by Torah’s standards of honesty and integrity, and to avoid doing anything that exposes them to risk.” As part of the talk, anonymized Aleph ‘case studies’ are used to develop different points, and the concepts of Dina Dmalchusa Dina, Gneivas Daas, and Taus Akum are explored through various Torah sources. At the end of the presentation, students are given practical tips for effectively navigating financial decisions.
Yeshivas Ohr Elchonon (LA), Rabbinical College of America (Morristown), Achei Temimim, and Oholei Torah Mesivta are just some of the roughly 25 yeshivos that have hosted the hour-long presentation thus far. “Project 432’s workshop is a must-do,” commented Rabbi Levi Tzukernik of Achei Tmimim. “[These] are conversations we all must have with our students, and the workshop is the best way to begin those conversations. I think it should be done in all yeshivos and high schools.” The bochurim also recognized the importance of the program. Aaron, a bochur at YOEC, said that “the workshop definitely reminded me that going above and beyond, to be honest, and straightforward is an integral part of what it means to be a frum yid.”
After its successful pilot year, Project 432 is working to scale the program. “The messages of the workshop are not unique to any specific community,” explains Landa, “and Baruch Hashem, it has been well received by communities representing the full spectrum of Klal Yisroel. We look forward to bringing it to many more yeshivos.” To that end, Project 432 has begun training volunteer presenters to bring the workshop to their respective communities. “Many people care about our mission of preventative education have been stepping up to partner with us. The way they see it, few things are more important than raising the next generation with the perspective and tools to navigate ethical and financial decisions. The messages we communicate in the workshop will guide them throughout their lives.”
To learn more about Project 432, or to inquire about bringing the Compass Workshop to a Yeshiva or High School, visit p432.org or reach out to [email protected]
Click here to follow Project 432 on Instagram.
Video on the Rebbe’s Vision for Preventative Education:
