Life & Death Matter
Our hearts go out to the murdered and kidnapped in Gaza and the Holy Land. We watch in anguish as terrorists and politicians alike bring us to the brink of world war. Yet within the heat of battle, it is easy to forget that there are other ways to die. The Avner Institute presents two insightful letters to Dr. Irving Stone of Cleveland stressing Jewish education as the means to rescue the “spiritual hostages”—those lost or alienated from their heritage—and the need for timely financial support and establishment of Torah institutions as the means to our ultimate survival.
With special thanks to Rabbi Lipa Brennan
Dedicated in memory of loving memory of Hadassah Lebovic A”h
“Spiritual hostages that are abducted daily”
By the Grace of G-d
17 Tammuz (may it soon become a day of joy) 5736
Brooklyn, NY
Mr. Yitzchok Stone
Cleveland, Ohio
Greeting and Blessing:
I have just received your letter of July 7, with an enclosure. It was gratifying to read the good news that you succeeded in inducing the Federation to make an initial grant to the Chabad House in Cleveland, thus breaking the ice, as it were, towards moving it to begin supporting Torah-true chinuch [education].
I agree with you, of course, that it was advisable to accept its initial commitment, although by far too inadequate, as you also indicate in your letter. However, under the circumstances, the important thing is to have induced it to move in the right direction, and it is to be hoped that before too long the Federation will gain momentum and increase its support for the vital programs of the Chabad House. There is also the weighty consideration, as you rightly point out, that this move will serve as a pilot program and model for other communities and organizations to emulate.
There is no need to emphasize to you the great zechus [merit] that is yours to bringing about this initial step. I am certain that you will continue to promote and develop it into a more substantial effort. No less effective is the spirit of personal commitment and dedication which must surely inspire others. This is reflected also in the note accompanying the check in the amount of $5,000 to Machne Israel, to assist in our educational program. It is very timely indeed in this Year of Chinuch, when we have embarked on a series of new and intensified activities and programs in this vital area. Here, too, I trust that the above is the forerunner of greater things. I have earmarked the check—hopefully with your approval—for the new educational program begun by our Chabad people in Eretz Yisroel.
Spiritual Hijacking
Here my thoughts turn to the recent miraculous rescue of the hostages from Uganda. One cannot fail to note the extraordinary aspects at both ends of the hijacking. On the one hand, the ease with which the four terrorists hijacked the airbus in Athens, and on the other hand the extraordinary success of the rescue operation. In other words, both the initial tragedy and eventual deliverance clearly point to the Hand of G-d.
And while every Jew is grateful to, and admires the mesiras nefesh [self-sacrifice] of, the brave rescuers, we must not lose sight for a moment of the warning and lesson at the bottom of it all—not just in regard to the danger of hijacking in the ordinary sense, but even more importantly in regard to the “spiritual hijacking” of so many of our young generation by alien and freak cultures which, unfortunately capture so many of our innocent boys and girls in Eretz Yisroel as in the Diaspora. With all the anxiety and love which filled every Jewish heart for those unfortunate hostages at Entebbe airport—surely no less concern should be shown to the spiritual hostages that are abducted daily, and no less mesiras nefesh to save them.
This is particularly painful to contemplate in regard to the general education of our Jewish youth in the land which even all the nations of the world recognize as the Holy Land, and one had reason to expect that they would be brought up in an atmosphere of holiness befitting the Holy Land. It is for this reason that our Chabad people in Eretz Yisroel and everywhere else have undertaken special rescue operations in the area of Jewish education.
May the zechus of your participation in this work stand you in good stead in all your affairs, particularly to have still greater and ever more true nachas [joy] from all year near and dear ones.
Last but not least, I was gratified to note that you commemorated your late wife, of blessed memory, by publishing one of our Holy Scriptures, the Book of Ruth, with a commentary, in a way that makes it accessible to those who need chinuch and inspiration, with selected midrashim of our Rabbis, our teachers for all generations.
With blessing,
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“The negative and the positive”
By the Grace of G-d
Rosh Chodesh
Menachem Av 5733
Brooklyn, NY
Mr. I. I. Stone
The Jacob Sapirstein Foundation
10500 American Road
Cleveland, Ohio
Greeting and Blessing:
After not hearing from you for some time—though I have been receiving indirect regards through mutual friends—I was pleased to receive your letter of July 25th. I hasten to reply, because of the obvious importance of the subject matter, which has to do with the problem of how best and most effectively to distribute funds from your Foundation to further Torah-true Jewish education, and you ask for advice and guidance on the matter.
Permit me, therefore, first of all, to point out some of the pitfalls which have hampered such highly desired objectives on the part of similar foundations. For the avoidance of these pitfalls is the first step in meeting the urgent needs.
Immediate Aid
It has often happened, unfortunately, in various areas of philanthropy, that before actual distribution of funds is commenced, a preliminary and lengthy research or study program is initiated. While this approach is generally motivated by a desire to distribute funds most effectively, and may be commendable theoretically, the net result has all too often been to delay actual distribution of funds urgently needed immediately, quite apart from the fact that substantial funds have been thus diverted from their main purpose. In our day and age, considering the state of emergency prevailing in Torah chinuch, the delay is even more deplorable than the diversion of funds.
A further point, which is also mentioned in your letter, is the prevalent policy of foundations not to touch the principal at any time, but to make distributions from income only. This policy, too, may be commendable in normal times, but in times of emergency such as now exists, I believe that a more flexible policy is clearly called for. Obviously, however substantial the income may be, it is only a fraction of the actual reserve; and where there is a case of “life-saving,” some of the reserves should also be brought into play.
I repeat, I fully appreciate that both guiding principles mentioned above, with which I take issue, and unquestionably businesslike and well-intentioned. But they are sound only in normal times.
The reality of the situation is, however, that we live in abnormal times, and the abnormality of the situation has two facets, one negative and one positive.
Confused & Lost
On the negative side, we see to our deep sorrow and dismay how a large and growing segment of our Jewish youth is utterly confused and alienated to such an extent that it is being written off in some quarters as a lost cause, G-d forbid. Such a view is, of course, quite at variance with the Torah view, unequivocally expressed by our Sages of the Mishnah: “All Jews have a share in the World to Come, as it is written, ‘but all your people are righteous . . . the work of My Hands.’” In other words, the eternal destiny of each and every Jew is assured by G-d Himself, regardless of the present state in which the individual may be.
Fortunately, just as Divine Providence is in evidence in everything, it is evidenced also in the fact the negative side of the situation is compensated by the positive side of it. It is, that never before has there been a greater, more eager and honest desire on the part of our younger generation to search for the truth, a desired matched by a determination and readiness to accept challenge and re-order the daily life accordingly—so long as they are convinced that they have found the truth.
The combination of the said two factors, the negative and the positive, makes it even more compelling to render the needed help immediately, without delay and in the maximum measure. There are numerous borderline cases, where it is a matter of touch or go, where every minute is of the essence: Reach out to them—and you save them; let go—and they may drift away beyond reach. For the forces pulling them in the wrong direction are many and tremendous: forces that “call darkness—light, and bitter—sweet,” and many of our boys and girls are constantly exposed to them with maximum vulnerability and minimum defenses.
The above may seem a lengthy preface to my answer to your letter, but not too lengthy considering the vital import of the subject.
Helpful Programs
If you have in mind some kind of agency or program involving contingent investigative or coordinative functions—then I have already expressed my view o it above. I rather hope, however, that you would consider, instead, beginning at once with direct allocations to Torah-true institutions and chinuch organizations which meet the qualifications you have set before you. I would also suggest, moreover, that in the next few years at any rate, some funds from the capital should augment the distribution from the income.
If the latter part of the suggestion still calls forth some hesitation, let me allay all such misgivings by the oft-repeated assurance of our Sages that tzedakah [charity] is analogous to a well, which replenishes itself. Drawing water from such a well does not decrease the supply, while depriving oneself of the needed quantity does not increase it. Even more illuminating is the analogy from the use of the mind, especially in regard to knowledge and wisdom of the Torah. The teacher who teaches Torah, the more demanding the students and the more he teaches, the more he learns and the more he deepens his own knowledge. There is no need to elaborate on this to you.
I trust you will accept my suggestions even if, at first glance, they do not appear overly businesslike. From what I have heard of you and know you, you are more concerned with persons and values than with hard business, and this is what we are concerned here with—living persons and the eternal values of Toras Chayim [Torah of Life] and Toras Emes [Torah of Truth], which must be brought together, in order to save them and their future generations.
May G-d guide you in making the right decisions, and the zechus horabim [merit of many] will be with you to do the right thing and to set of shining example to others, and to carry out your responsibilities—with the fullest cooperation and encouragement of your wife—in good health and with gladness of heart.
With esteem and blessing,
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Mr Stone, I remember him. He came to my wedding, I didn’t know him then, I gave him sholom and asked who he is. He said – I’m Irving, I work with your father in law.
My father-in-law was an employee of American Greetings. Later interactions with Mr. Stone left lasting impressions and lifelong lessons. He was kind and humble and a huge supporter of Torah. May His Neshama have nachas from all the wonderful deeds he did for Klak Yisroel. S Weiner, Cleveland Hts.