Communications with the
Chief Rabbinate
Following the multiple terrorist attacks culminating
with the Dizengoff bombing on Purim, it was decided to go public with our
restoration of the Half-Shekel, also connected with Purim, to raise the
morale of the Jewish people worldwide. The following correspondence was
initiated with the Chief Rabbinate of the State of Israel so that that
office would be prepared to answer questions once the announcements hit
the press.
The most recent correspondence
LETTER TO RABBI ISRAEL MEIR LAU, CHIEF RABBI OF ISRAEL
7th Nisan, 5756 (27th March, 1996)
Your Honor
The Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
Jerusalem
Your Honor Rabbi Lau, G-d is with you!
My name is Reuven Prager. You know me by sight if not by name. I was
also close with Reb Shlomo (Carlebach). My work of the last 12 years has
been researching to restore ancient Israelite customs in preparation for
rebuilding the Holy Temple, according to Halachah (Jewish Law). To date,
I have restored our national dress and our ancient marriage ceremony, to
wit, the Jerusalem of Gold bridal crown, Aperion (Royal Wedding Litter),
Canopy of Bridegrooms, and Jerusalem's Royal Litter Bearers. I also distribute
Techelet (Biblical Blue fringes) worldwide for Radzin, and have located
and distribute the 11 spices of the Ketoret (Temple Incense) for Havdallah
and educational purposes. My work has received international recognition
and I do annual world tour speaking about our efforts.
My current project is to restore the Half-Shekel. To that end, the enclosed
public service announcement will appear in the April 1st edition of the
Jerusalem Post International. Since the Chief Rabbinate will be involved
in this project and out of respect for you personally, I am giving you
an advance copy so that you have time to familiarize yourself with the
subject and not be caught off-guard, and embarrassed G-d forbid.
I am available to you any time of the day or night to answer any and
all questions you have regarding this project.
Have a great Pesach!
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager |
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (Received 5/15/96)
10th Iyar, 5756 (29th April, 1996)
Mr. Reuven Prager
Agrippas Street 111
P.O.Box 28052
Jerusalem
Shalom and Blessings,
I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter in the office of the Honorable
Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Israel Meir Lau.
According to the instructions of Rabbi Yosef Schwartz it is custom today
in the afternoon prayer of the Fast of Esther to do a "rememberance of
the Half-Shekel" as appears in various lists of laws and customs.
Respectfully,
Rabbi Raphael Frank |
LETTER TO RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
2nd Sivan, 5756 (20th May, 1996)
Rabbi Raphael Frank
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Jerusalem
Dear Rabbi Frank,
Shalom Aleichem! Thank you for your letter of 10th Iyar. I want to preface
what follows with this: every word I write is intended with utmost humility,
respect, and love. Please bare this in mind as you read on.
If you re-read my letter of 7 Nisan, you will find that I sought neither
instructions or permission. I have full authority to restore the Half-Shekel,
the authority that G-d charged my ancestors with, which is no less valid
today. The nature of the office of the Chief Rabbinate is to manage the
religious affairs in the realm of "what is". The nature of the office of
Levi is taking the realm of "what could be" and bringing it into the realm
of "what is", at which point it would enter the sphere of the Chief Rabbinate.
As you know, the Half-Shekel is a Torah Commandment, never banned by
the Rabbis. It was donated even after the destruction of the Temple and
was sent in by the Jews of the Diaspora. It was finally banned by the Roman
Empero Hadrian in 135 CE, for he realised that as long as the Jews gave
the Half-Shekel, we had a sense of sovereignty over Jerusalem. The determination
of the Sages that "we are not accustomed except in the presence of the
Temple" was two-fold; 1) Without Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem there
was no practical use for the money. 2) Since Jews were now under gentile
authority even in Eretz Yisrael- we could not safeguard the sanctity of
the declared coins. The institution of a "rememberance of the Half-Shekel"
is to remind us that at the first possibility of renewing the commandment,
we are to do so, and it was not intended to become an end in itself. Zecher
(remember) by us means Zecher to do, it is not Zecher L'shma (rememberance
for its own sake).
When you take the fact that the Sages informed us "One who sanctifies
Shekels without the Temple- Behold it is Holy", and you add the fact that
there is now practical use for the money and the means for total control
over the sanctified coins due to our renewed sovereignty, and the existance
of the Bank of Israel vaults, we have all the means to do it, and since
it is a Torah Commandment, we are obligated to do it. Add to this the particular
junction in history, when our sovereignty is being challenged over Jerusalem.
The reinstitution of the Half-Shekel now will bring joy to both our government
ministers and Am Yisrael worldwide. Every Jew will be able to participate
in Jerusalem by giving the Half-Shekel. Open your heart, think about it
deeply, see my vision. Look at it with the eyes of how can we do it?, not
how not to do it. The reinstitution of the Half-Shekel today, right now,
will give the spiritual Hechsher that we need as a people to claim Jerusalem
as ours eternally. Think about it deeply- see my vision.
When I wrote to Rabbi Lau, it was to inform him in advance of the publication
of the project. It has since been published in over 70 countries world-wide.
Please do bring it to his attention as I originally requested. We are taught
"In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man." This is your opportunity
to be a man. Bring it to him with "Ratzon" (positive willingness). What
I could use is a letter from the Chief Rabbi agreeing that: 1)The Half-Shekel
is a Torah Commandment, never banned by the Rabbis. 2) Whoever sanctifies
the Half-Shekel without the Temple- Behold it is Holy. 3) The Chief Rabbi
looks with favor to the success of this endeavor.
I have a total conception of how to do it, according to Halachah and
the laws of the State of Israel concerning the issuing of coins, as well
as how the distribtution and collection will be carried out, the fruit
of thirteen years of research. I am available to you at any time to clarify
questions you may have. If you are going to send me another "we don't do
it" letter, save your postage. I am not interested.
Respectfully,
Reuven Prager
cc: Office of the President of the State of Israel |
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (Received 3/7/96)
8th Tammuz, 5756 (25th June, 1996)
Mr. Reuven Prager
"Beged Ivri"
111 Agrippas Street
Jerusalem
Shalom and Blessings,
In relation to your letter I respond, firstly, with regard to the duty
of the Chief Rabbinate this is not the place to discuss it, however on
one point we surely agree that every innovation in custom requires the
agreement of the Sages of Israel and we don't do things from our own minds,
even though after the fact there is no fear in this.
I referred you to see that the subject of the Half-Shekel was already
established by Rav Yosef Schwartz, OBM, and this subject appears on the
calender of Rav Tuckachinski on Erev Purim.
What I got from your letter is that the opinion of the Chief Rabbiante
does not interest you and you only want to use his office as an instrument
for actions that you are interested in doing. That stance is not respectful
and is not acceptable to me and I suggest that you continue your efforts
without involving our office in the matter.
With much respect,
Rabbi Raphael Frank |
LETTER TO RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
21st Tammuz, 5756 (8th July, 1996)
Harav Raphael Frank
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Dear Rabbi Frank,
Thank you for your letter of 8 Tammuz. Yes we are in complete agreement
that any innovation in custom requires the agreement of the Sages of Israel,
and we do not do things from our own minds. I am sure you will also agree
with me that not one of those innovations, including the office you occupy,
were initiated by those same Sages. They were created as facts by initiators,
and the Rabbanim agreed after the fact. With all due respect Rav Frank,
I have invested 61,516 hours, approximately, in preparation for this project,
and that is only my own work. I think I am being generous if I say you
have spent one hour preparing your responses to my letters. I did not write
to Harav Lau suggesting that we wear green balloons on Wednesdays. Yes,
I am using my mind, and the abilities that G-d gave me, to bring about
the restoration of the Holy Half-Shekel. And yes I am a Chutzpah, I am
a Levite, and I get things done. So now that we have that out of the way,
please pay attention to what I am saying now.
In the last letter I received from the Bank of Israel, it was clarified
that if the Half-Shekel is declared "not legal tender" then it is not subject
to subsection 33A of the Bank of Israel Law, 1954. This means, theoretically,
that the Half-Shekel could be minted, distributed, and collected, without
the necesity of either the Bank of Israel or the Government Coin and Medal
Corp. being involved. That means, that if you work with me now, we can
defer total control of the entire endeavor into the hands of the Chief
Rabbinate, with all the jobs and responsibilities that would be created
in perpetuity. This will be confirmed if we get the anticipated response
regarding section 28 of the Bank of Israel Law. Included in these responsibilities
will be maintaining direct contact with tens of thousands of Jewish institutions
worldwide, with direct participation by millions of Jews in a project totally
under the control of the Chief Rabbinate. I will not allow you to hide
your head in the sand and tell me not to involve you. I am going to involve
you until you have Half-Shekels up to your eyeballs. If need be I will
hand you a completed project, but your help in expediting it will save
several years of wasted time and energy. The Half-Shekel will be restored,
under your auspices or not.
It would be a terrible loss of prestige to your office if I have to
work despite you rather than with you. I would also make mention that my
work is being followed, letter by letter, both in academia and for the
public in a documentary in preparation. Our correspondence is already a
matter of public record. Have an eye for how your responses read in the
eyes of a public that looks to the Chief Rabbinate to look after the spiritual
wellbeing of our people. Rav Frank, the resistence to Redemption is passive.
Look what you are fighting against; The restoration of the Half-Shekel!
Why, if it could be done, would you assume such a position? Who are we
serving?
Harav Frank, you and I will stand side by side with tears of joy in
our eyes as we drop our Half-Shekels into Shofar-shaped collection boxes,
and we will repeat together the prophetic words of Harav Hagaon R. Akiva
Yehosef Schlezinger, OBM, "May it be desired before You, Lord our G-d and
the G-d of our forebearers, that by virtue of the value of this Half-Shekel
that I am setting aside for the redemption, the reconstruction and the
appeasement of Your Land as we are enjoined- let it be considered as though
I weighed out (the value of the Half-Shekel) in Your Holy Temple, for the
building of the Tabernacle, the site and the dignity of the Presence of
G-d. Furthermore, as it is required for us to dwell in the Land may we
enjoy Your blessings, and as, by virtue of these Shekelim, You saved Your
people from the decree of Haman, so may you redeem and save us from all
the foes of Israel, from all those who would harm us spiritually or physically.
Moreover, save us from pillagers and from those who incite against us,
and save us from all distress and bring us mercifully to Zion, so that
we have the merit to bring more Shekelim in the Temple of our G-d, to the
walls of your altar- as You desire. Amen, may it be so, and may DIVINE
GOODNESS INSPIRE US etc., and may that which we express orally and in our
thoughts be desired before You." (c.1876)
And can you imagine the atmosphere of rejoicing? You will turn to me
and say Kol Hakavod - Yeshar Kochacha. Mamash!
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager |
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (received 21/10/96)
2nd Cheshvan, 5757 (15th October, 1996)
Mr. Reuven Prager
"Beged Ivri"
111 Agrippas Street
Jerusalem
Shalom and blessings,
I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter on the subject of the Half-Shekel
coin project in the office of His Honor the Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi
Israel Meir Lau.
We will pass your proposal on to the Chief Assembly of Rabbis for Israel,
and if it is found warranting, we will raise it on the daily agenda.
With much respect,
Rabbi Raphael Frank |
[That's better!] (editor's note)
RESPONSE FROM CHIEF RABBINATE
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
6th Shevat, 5757 (14th February, 1997)
Mr. Reuven Prager Beged Ivri
111 Agrippas Street
Jerusalem
Shalom and Blessings,
Your letter of 29 Cheshvan was received in the office of The Chief Rabbi
of Israel Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau.
As you requested, please find enclosed the register of the members of
the Chief Rabbinical Assembly.
With much respect,
HaRav Raphael Frank |
LETTER TO CHIEF RABBINATE
15th Adar II, 5757 (24th March, 1997)
Rabbi Raphael Frank
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Jerusalem
Dear Rabbi Frank,
Shalom. My apologies for not responding sooner, I just returned from
a two month coast-to-coast tour of the U.S. promoting the Half-Shekel project.
It is with much excitement that I can inform you that the Half-Shekel
is now a physical reality. Production began on 14 Adar II, Purim.
I wish to thank you for supplying me with the list of members of the
Chief Rabbinical Assembly.
Has a date been set for discussion of the restoration of the Half-Shekel?
If not, how do establish a date? Keeping in mind that there remain only
12 months until Purim of 5758, at which time we will be delivering into
the hands of the Chief Rabbinate all the Hekdesh we can, we really need
to speed things up a bit. We would want to avoid at all costs a situation
in which the Chief Rabbinate is unprepared for the responsibility.
I am submitting a formal question to the Chief Rabbi that requires a
ruling by Adar of next year. Would you please facilitate the matter.
Thank you in advance.
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
cc:
Mr. Bobby Brown, Office of the Prime Minister
Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's
|
LETTER TO THE CHIEF RABBI
15th Adar II, 5757 (24th March, 1997)
Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
Dear Chief Rabbi Lau,
Shalom. Due to new circumstances created by the restoration of the custom
of giving a Holy Half-Shekel commencing with the Purim of 5758, I humbly
submit the following questions for your ruling;
1) What Bracha does one make when giving the Half-Shekel?
2) At what point in the Shushan Purim evening service does one give
the Half-Shekel, before the reading of the Megillah, or after it?
On behalf of Klal Yisrael,
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
cc:
Mr. Bobby Brown, Prime Minister's Office
Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's
|
LETTER TO THE CHIEF RABBI
13th Day of the Omer
28th Nisan, 5757 (5th May, 1997)
The Chief Rabbi of Israel,
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
Office of the Chief Rabbinate
King George Street
Jerusalem
Dear Chief Rabbi Lau,
Shalom and Blessings! If I were to show you a history book written 50
years from now on the Restoration of the Custom of Giving the Holy Half-Shekel
on Purim of 5758, heralding in the 50th year Celebrations of the State
of Israel, it would include the following story;
"In February of 1997 he succeeded in obtaining the funds to make the
master dies and immediately faxed Jerusalem a copy of the check and with
the accompanying request that the minter meet him in his office on March
23rd, Purim, so that for historical reasons, production would begin on
that date. Little did he know.
He returned to Jerusalem on The Fast of Esther, January 20th, and on
the morning of the 23rd presented himself in the offices of S. Kretchmer
and Sons and handed over the check, saying 'Do you know what we have just
done? We just founded the Beit Hamikdash!' Returning home he saw on CNN
that the Haters of Israel were meeting, that very day, in Islamabad. With
hands waving and arrogant mouths they sought a decree against Jerusalem.
And later that evening, Shushan Purim in Jerusalem, he listened as Haman
offered his Shekels to buy Israel's annihilation. Rembering that the Shekels
we gave in the wildreness, besides atoning for the sin of the golden calf,
also prophetically redeemed us from Haman's Shekels in the future, he realized
with the power of a revelation, that it had happened again! Once again
the Half-Shekel of Israel had overturned the decree against Jerusalem.
The work of a single Levite, begining production of the Half-Shekel in
Jerusalem, had overturned the decree that the Haters of Israel sought in
Islamabad. Two weeks later he was informed of two other occurances that
happened on Purim that year; a lunar eclipse and the appearance of a 'Coin
of Fire' in the Heavens."
Rabbi Lau, the ceremonial coins going out to the Diaspora leave the
country as product. They return as Hekdesh. There is currently VAT on anything
coming into the country. There can be no VAT on Hekdesh coming into the
country. In fact, Customs may not even touch the Hekdesh coimng in, let
alone charge for storage. That would be a prohibited benefitting from Hekdesh.
Brink's will have to off-load the Hekdesh directly at the plane and deliver
it to your offices unmolested.
I am therefore requesting that you issue a directive to the VAT Authority,
as the legal body responsible for the propper behaviour of the State of
Israel vis-a-vis Halachah, that there is no VAT on Hekdesh, and see to
it that it is immediately recognized as such in Law. If this is not done
by the 24th of Adar next year, it will be, G-d forbid, a real serious problem.
On the humorous side, in my discussions with Brink's, I was sharing
the concern that if a communities' shipment were to be stolen, G-d forbid,
it would have to be replaced with an added fifth. The response was immediate.
"No problem, you can insure it for 120%." Unbelievable!
In the days of Yoash, the governement turned to Levi to restore the
custom of giving the Holy Half-Shekel. Levi tarried. And only on the second
try, did Levi respond, and it led to great rejoicing.
This time around Levi turned to the government to restore the Half-Shekel
and the government tarried. So Levi did it himself.
When we left Egypt we left before our dough had time enough to rise.
We left in a hurry. So will it be leaving Galuth. On the 25th of Adar 5758
I will be delivering into your custodianship Hekdesh. And the Ministers
and the people will rejoice!
Taken to heart on the deepest level, the Half-Shekel is the ultimate
manifestation of the equality of every Jew. It is the end of disunity,
the begining of Redemption.
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
cc:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's
|
This is the list of distinguished Rabbis who sit on the Supreme Religious
Council for the State of Israel, as supplied to us by the Office of
the Chief Rabbinate:
-
Rabbi Yisrael Lau, Chief Rabbi of Israel
-
Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron, Chief Rabbi of Israel
-
Rabbi Yosef Sharvit, Rabbi of Ashkelon
-
Rabbi Yosef Glicksberg, Rabbi of Givattayim
-
Rabbi Ratzon Erosi, Rabbi of Kiryat Ono
-
Rabbi Yosef Abuhatzira, Rabbi of Yavne
-
Rabbi Yitzchak Ralbag
-
Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, Rabbi of Rehovot
-
Rabbi Moshe Malka, Rabbi of Petach Tikvah
-
Rabbi Yitzchak Grosman, Rabbi of Migdal Ha'emek
-
Rabbi David Shalush, Rabbi of Netanya
-
Rabbi Yitzchak Kulitz, Rabbi of Jerusalem
-
Rabbi Gad Navon, Chief Rabbi of Zahal
-
Rabbi Mishal Dahan, Rabbi of Beer Sheva
-
Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Rabbi of Haifa
-
Rabbi Chaim David HaLevi, Rabbi of Tel Aviv
-
Rabbi Moshe Ruachberger, Rabbi of Ramat Hadar
The following letter was sent to each and every one of these distinguished
Rabbis on 5th Iyar, 5757 ( 12th May, 1997):
20th Day of the Omer
Yom Ha'Atzmaut Year 49
5th Iyar, 5757
Dear Esteemed Member of the Supreme Rabbinical Council,
Shalom Aleichem! May G-d find me faultless for addressing my elders,
those much greater than myself, and at the same time, may G-d give me the
words to reach you, immediately, to the deepest depths, so that you know
with the surety of hindsight, what I am about to reveal to you.
I speak in the name of my ancestors, the House of Levi, in the name
of the Duty of my Father's House.
With the reintroduction of Hekdesh, a new level of religious activity
begins with major ramifications, that will greatly affect Halachic rulings
and contemporary ritual observance.
I am presenting to you a "Coin of Fire", the restoration of the custom
of giving the Holy Half-Shekel, commencing with Purim of 5758, coinciding
with the Jubilee Year of the State of Israel.
Production of the first independently motifed ceremonial Half-Shekel
in 1927 years began on Purim 5757, in Jerusalem. Distribution begins, G-d
willing, on Shavuoth and will continue until Rosh Chodesh Adar 5758, when
work will begin on the following year's coins.
On the 25th of Adar 5758, Brink's will deliver to the Office of the
Chief Rabbinate, all the Hekdesh collected from all the participating communities
worldwide, in time for the separation of Trumat HaLishkah on Erev Rosh
Chodesh Nisan.
The reintroduction of Hekdesh next year requires immediate action by
the Chief Rabbinical Council to instruct State agencies in the proper conduct
regarding the Halachic aspects of dealing with Hekdesh. Please see the
letter to Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau of 28th Nisan 5757, for a specific
example of potential problems that need to be avoided.
In a letter from the Office of the Chief Rabbi dated 2nd MarCheshvan 5757
we were informed that the Restoration of the Custom of Giving the Half-Shekel
was to be brought before the Council. There are now only ten months until
Purim of 5758. I humbly and strongly recommend that the Council meet to
start to discuss what needs to be done as we come face to face with newly
applicable situations brought about by the reintroduction of Hekdesh.
Standing on the shoulders of the Sages, I present to you a fait accompli
that allows you to deal with Hekdesh now, as existing after the fact, precluding
any theoretical discussion of whether or not this should have been done
in the first place. We all know, that regardless of how much Hekdesh is
collected this year, it will grow and grow until we reach general participation.
I would also like to take the opportunity to inform you that this letter,
as with every correspondence between Beged Ivri and all the various Government
agencies involved over the last four years, is archived on the Internet
and is already in the public domain.
I look forward to the earliest opportunity to meet with the Council
to bring you up to date with everything concerning the Half-Shekel so that
you can make informed and appropriate decisions. I am at your service at
any time to answer any and all questions you may have regarding this incredible
historical restoration.
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
cc:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's
|
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (Received 27th June, 1997)
16th Sivan, 5757 (22nd June, 1997)
Mr. Reuven Prager
"Beged Ivri"
P.O.Box 28052
Jerusalem
Shalom and Blessings,
I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter in the Office of the Chief
Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Israel Meir Lau.
The agenda of the meetings of the Assembly are determined by the Chief
Rabbis of Israel.
With much respect,
HaRav Raphael Frank |
LETTER TO RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
24th Sivan, 5757 (29th June, 1997)
Rabbi Raphael Frank
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Jerusalem
Dear Rabbi Frank,
Thank you for your deep and illuminating letter of 17 Sivan. I am amazed
that it only took you three months to write it.
In nine months time we will be delivering Hekdesh into the custodianship
of the Chief Rabbinate. You had better be prepared.
Your attitude, as evidenced by your responses to my letters, is totally
unacceptable, and you will be held accountable for any failure on behalf
of the Chief Rabbinate to be prepared for the awesome responsibility of
safeguarding the Hekdesh.
Our correspondence has been viewed by more than 100,000 readers on the
Internet to date. If I were to share with you some of the letters we have
received concerning your responses, you would be so ashamed you would hide
yourself from public view. Your non-thinking responses do a disservice
to the office you represent. Get real!
G-d Help Us,
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri |
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
8th Tammuz, 5757
13th July, 1997
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
P.O.Box 28052
Jerusalem
Shalom and blessings,
First off, I am surprised that someone who appears under the label "Beged
Ivri" uses a foreign date. To the cruxt of the
issue, as long as I have not received the agreement of the Chief Rabbis
or the Supreme Rabbinical Council concerning your
actions, please don't involve them in the issue.
Again I refer you to the agreed upon custom of "Zecher" (Rememberance)
of the Half-Shekel as it appears in the years'
calendars.
With much respect,
HaRav Raphael Frank |
[Editor's note: I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point.
Well, if you can't go over the wall, or around it, there's always tunnelling
under it! We'll try a different approach.]
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel
Beit Yahav, 80 Yirmiyahu Street
P.O.Box 7525
Jerusalem
26th Tamuz, 5757 (31st July, 1997)
Mr. Reuven Prager
"Beged Ivri"
P.O.Box 28052
Jerusalem
Shalom and blessings,
It grieves me that you still don't understand my words. The Chief Rabbinate
does not intend to cooperate with you.
With much respect,
HaRav Raphael Frank |
LETTER TO RABBI ISRAEL MEIR LAU, CHIEF RABBI OF ISRAEL
7th Av, 5757 (10th August, 1997)
Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel
Beit Yahav, 80 Yirmiyahu Street
P.O.Box 7525
Jerusalem
Dear Chief Rabbi Lau,
Shalom. During the last sixteen months I have been attempting to involve
your office in a project vital to the whole of Klal
Yisrael, essential for the personal and national spiritual and physical
wellbeing of the people.
The project included two stages: 1) The minting and distribution of
a ceremonial pure silver Holy Half-Shekel, and 2) The restoration of the
custom of giving the Holy Half-Shekel
We turned to you as the seat of religious responsibility for the State
of Israel to let us work through your office, so that the
prestige of the project would accrue to the Office of the Chief Rabbinate
and the State of Israel.
We turned to you as the seat of religious responsibility for the State
of Israel to let us work through your office, so that the
prestige of the project would accrue to the Office of the Chief Rabbinate
and the State of Israel.
You abdicated responsibility for providing the ceremonial coins to Klal
Yisrael, so we went ahead and minted them, and we will be responsible for
the revenues and expansion of participation.
According to the last letter received from your office, you are formally
abdicating custodianship over the Hekdesh that will be
collected this coming Adar. In other words, your office, as seat of
the Chief Rabbinate of the State of Israel, is formally
abdicating responsibility for safeguarding Hekdesh, on behalf of the
People and State of Israel.
This will require the establishment of a Beit Din Levi to take responsibility
for the safeguarding and disbursement of the
Hekdesh donated annually. This we will establish.
What a shame, and what a loss of prestige to your office, that you showed
apathy toward such a harbinger of the Complete
Redemption.
It is perhaps too symbolic that your office has abdicated the seat of
the Chief Rabbinate at Heichal Shlomo.
With a pained heart,
Reuven ben Yosef HaLevi
Beged Ivri
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LETTER FROM CHIEF RABBI BAKSHI DORON ON RECEIPT OF A PROOF EDITION OF THE HOLY HALF-SHEKEL
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Office of the Rishon L'Tzion
Chief Rabbi of Israel
Jerusalem
3rd Kislev, 5758
Mr Reuven Prager, may G-d bless and keep you
Beged Ivri
Greetings,
The ceremonial half-shekel was the received with gratitude at the office of the
Rishon L'Tzion, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Eliyahu Bakshi Doron.
The Rishon L'Tzion congratulates you on inspired initiative, reminiscent
of the ancient days of the kingdom of Israel, and our Eternal House,
built in its place and in its splendour.
With much respect,
HaRav Yitzchak Ohana
Assistant to the Rishon L'Tzion
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LETTER FROM CHIEF RABBI YISRAEL MEIR LAU ON RECEIPT OF A PROOF EDITION OF THE HOLY HALF-SHEKEL
Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Office ot the Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau
5th Kislev 5758
4th December, 1997
Mr. Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
P.O.Box 28052
Jerusalem
Shalom and Blessings,
I hereby acknowledge with blessings receipt of the Half-Shekel coin you have
brought into existance, in the office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel HaRav
Israel Meir Lau.
The Chief Rabbi requested me to thank you for the interesting material that
you passed on for his consideration and he wishes you success.
With much respect,
HaRav Raphael Frank
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The following letter was sent personally
to each of the Chief Rabbis, Rabbi Eliyahu
Bakshi Doron and Rabbi Meir Lau.
Erev Rosh Chodesh Nisan, 5758 (27th March, 1998)
The Chief Rabbi of Israel
Office of the Chief Rabbinate
Beit Yahav, 80 Yirmiyahu Street
P.O.Box 7525
Jerusalem
Dear Chief Rabbi,
Shalom and Blessings. It is with great excitement that we enter
the first month of Nisan in 1928 years with Hekdesh available
for use this year.
On Erev Rosh Chodesh you were presented with a key to the box of
the proceeds from the Trumat HaLishka ceremony performed earlier
in the day. The Hekdesh rests in the safe in your Offices.
When we lost the Temple and sovereignty over Eretz Yisrael
1928 years ago, we lost the ability to safeguard Hekdesh. Today
we have that ability, albeit perhaps not the will, to safeguard Hekdesh.
With the drop of the first Half-Shekel coin into the golden chest
for New Shekels this last Purim, the Exile ended. There is now
Hekdesh in Jerusalem. Trumat HaLishka was performed, and the
proceeds are now available.
In presenting an "after the fact" situation, we have now
activated all the laws of Hekdesh and Meilah that have been
studied only in theory these last 19 centuries.
Already this year, thousands of Jews the world over have hit the
books with an intensity rarely experienced before, all trying to
find ways to show us what we have done wrong. Once, however,
ignorance is replaced with study, people have come forward
beaming with joy, sharing their "findings" that we acted
according to Halachah.
It is encumbant upon us now, to study the laws of Hekdesh and
Meilah for practicle application, with the sense of immediacy
that this requires.
I once again call upon you, as Chief Rabbi of the State of
Israel, to sound the call for the serious study of the laws of
Hekdesh and Meilah, and to work to correct the ignorant
perception that Hekdesh is a "problem". Hekdesh is not a
problem. Hekdesh is a Gevalt! Meilah is a problem. The only way
we can come to Meilah, G-d forid, today, is by way of laziness.
Laziness is not an excuse.
May G-d Bless you, as the first Chief Rabbi of the State of
Israel to have the honor to be Custodian for Trumat HaLishka.
What a sweet responsibility.
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
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The following letter was sent personally
to each of the Chief Rabbis, Rabbi Eliyahu
Bakshi Doron and Rabbi Meir Lau.
Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5758 (26th May, 1998)
The Chief Rabbi of Israel
The Chief Rabbinate
Beit Yahav
80 Yirmiyahu Street
Jerusalem
Dear Chief Rabbi,
Shalom and blessings. It is with continued awe that we delivered
the proceeds of this year's second Trumat HaLishka ceremony
which took place earlier today, to your office. The Hekdesh is
in the safe in your office. Enclosed is the key to the lockbox.
As you know, the Torah uses the term "Kopher" three times, all
relating to instances of homicide that are not murder. The first
relates to the owner of the ox that gored. That person can
ransom his soul. The second instance is for an Israelite
soldier. It was, and is, encumbant upon every Israelite soldier
to give a Half-Shekel yearly, lest G-d forbid, that soldier was
forced to shed blood during the coming year of service. Unlike
the nations that surround us, who would pillage and then
celebrate their victories in battle, our ancestors sought
atonement for having had to shed blood. That atonement was
achieved through the Holy Half-Shekel they gave.
We will be working in the coming year to see to it that Zahal
distributes Half-Shekels to every soldier serving, every year,
so as to enable those soldiers who want to perform the Mitzvah
with the opportunity to do so.
As long as Am Yisrael fields an army, the Commandment to give
the Holy Half-Shekel is valid, regardless of whether or not the
Temple stands. And it is a Torah Commandment only for those who
serve in the army, although it is accepted from every Jew. In
fact, there might even rise a generation of Yeshiva students,
who in order to fulfil a Torah precept, will join the army so
that their Half-Shekels should be D'oraita. Wouldn't that
silence the critics to see civically responsible B'nai Torah,
and at the same time, investing a sense of Holiness to armed
service.
Following the final Trumat HaLishka ceremony this year, on the
29th of Elul, we stand ready should the need arise, to fund the
service of the Holy Temple. Should we arrive at Rosh Chodesh
Nissan, 5759, without the Temple existing, G-d forbid, then the
Halachah requires that the silver collected the previous year
goes to make Ministering Vessels. We strongly advise that the
silver go towards making silver trumpets, or any other
non-sacrificial vessel. It is our experience that the aversion
to the concept of animal sacrifice is a major obstacle
preventing Am Yisrael from approaching the concept of rebuilding
the Temple with any interest. It would be good for all to make
clear the Chief Rabbinate's opinion on the subject before
scoffers use the issue to ridicule the Torah, G-d forbid.
Our tradition teaches that the reason the Trumat HaLishka
ceremony was performed three times a year, was to publicize the
Mitzvah. I encourage the office of the Chief Rabbinate to do
just that. Teach Am Yisrael the deepest depths of the
Commandents relating to army service, turn the tables around on
the scoffers, and be a leader in uniting Klal Yisrael through
the Holy Half-Shekel.
G-d Bless,
Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
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