Harav Toledano
Prisons Authority
5 Histadrut Street
Jerusalem

Dear Rabbi Toledano,

Shalom Aleichem. It is my great honor to inform you that we are restoring the sacred custom of giving a pure silver ceremonial Holy Half-Shekel on Purim, to Clal Yisrael, to coincide with the fiftieth year celebrations in 1998.

One of the fundamental teachings of the Half-Shekel is that the rich can give no more and the poor no less. Whether that is talking about material wealth or Mitzvah observance, it comes to teach us that every Jew, whether he/she sits in jail, G-d forbid, or he/she sits on the throne of a Chasidic dynasty, his/her fulfilment of this Mitzvah is equal to that of every other Jew. For the unaffiliated it comes to teach "I am at least Half a Shekel", and for the ultra-observant it comes to teach "I am only Half a Shekel". Thus even the hapless Jew who finds himself in Jail on Purim can say "I am at least Half a Shekel", and on that level, be equal to every other Jew.

I am unfamiliar with the structure of the Prisons Authority and would like to know if there is a Rabbinate similar to the Rabbinate in Zahal, who looks after the religious needs of the incarcerated. If so, do you receive a budget to cover the costs of providing the religious needs of the prison population?

If you are budgeted, then you will need to take into account, when preparing your budget requests for 1998, the necesary funds to provide every inmate who wishes to perform this Mitzvah with a Holy Half-Shekel, and enable the inmates to donate the ceremonial coins on Purim. You will also need to provide every facility with a special shofar-shaped collection box which we will made available to you.

In the event that you are not budgeted, we will immediately set up a fund to provide the inmates with Half-Shekels, as per your requirements.

The ceremonial Holy Half-Shekels will be minted by the Israel Government Coins and Medals Corp. Ltd. Brink's will deliver the ceremonial coins to your office on the first of Adar and will collect the shofars, full of coins, from your office on the 25th of Adar. They will be delivered to the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem for further disposition.

I would like to meet with you to hear what special needs the Prisons Authority has regarding the implementation of this project. We are looking foward to your cooperation.

G-d Bless,

Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri

cc:

Mr. David Bar Ilan, Prime Minister's Office
Mr. Moshe Klirs, IGCMC
Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's

Mr. Reuven Prager
"Beged Ivri"
111 Agrippas Street
Jerusalem

Dear Sir,

It is my wish to congratulate you on your warm letter of 20 Kislev 5757.

After checking our budget, it is not within our means to give a positive response to your proposal, notwithstanding all the aspects that you related to.

I once again thank you.

In the Torah's Blessings,

HaRav Moshe Toledano
Chief Rabbi of the Prison Authority

HaRav Moshe Toledano
Chief Rabbi Prison Authority
5 Histradrut Street
Jerusalem

Dear Rabbi Toledano,

Shalom V'Chag Sameach! This was an historic Purim; the last Purim we did not give the Half-Shekel.

Thank you for your very positive letter. I am pleased to announce that the Half-Shekel is now a physical reality.

Upon receipt of your letter we contacted a friend of the Aleph Institute in Surfside, Florida in the U.S. If you are not familiar with the Aleph Institute, it is a Chabad sponsored organization that sees to the religious needs of every Jewish inmate in North American Prisons. I am confident that the Aleph Institute can easily raise the required funds to cover the costs of providing every Israeli inmate who wants to fulfil this Commandment with a Half-Shekel.

If the funds were available to you, could we count on your offices' full cooperation? Can we meet at your earliest convenience. We have 12 months until Purim of 5758. We need every day.

G-d Bless,

Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri

cc:

Mr. Bobby Brown, Prime Minister's Office
Mr. Moshe Klirs, IGCM
Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's

25 Adar II 5757
April 3, 1997

Mr. Reuven Prager
"Beged Ivri"

1. I received your letter of 15 Adar II- 23/3/97.

2. As the time for the Mitzvah has passed, we will leave the subject, with G-d's help, for next year.

Have a Kosher and Happy Holiday,

HaRav M. Toledano
Chief Rabbi of the Prison Authority

HaRav Moshe Toledano
Chief Rabbi Prison Authority
5 Histradrut Street
Jerusalem

Dear Rabbi Toledano,

Shalom. As a follow-up to our meeting on 25 Adar II, where we were in agreement that your last letter was a totally unacceptable response, I will recap our discussion for the record.

As you claim that you are not provided with sufficient budget to look after the religious needs of Israel's incarcerated, we have offered to raise the funds necesary to provide every inmate who wishes to participate in this Mitzvah with a Half-Shekel, and to provide you with a sufficient number of Shofar shaped collection recepticles so that each facility can participate.

To preclude any security problems, we suggested that the inmates be given their Half-Shekels at the exact time of donating them, so that the coins not circulate amongst the prison population. The Rav will hand the prisoner the ceremonial coin and the inmate will make the Bracha and drop the coin into the shofar in the presence of the Rav, say the "Yehi Ratzon" and he/she has fulfiled the Commandment. No problem.

Brink's will deliver to your office on Rosh Chodesh Adar a sufficient number of Half-Shekels as per your request, and will pick up from your office the shofars full of Half-Shekels on the 20th of Adar to be delivered to the Chief Rabbinate of the State of Israel.

What we need from you is a request for the number of Half-Shekels you will require and the number of Shofars you require. Nothing more and nothing less will be requested from you. And make no mistake, you have no choice but to participate, this being the same as providing Matzah on Pesach. Its your duty.

And remember, our correspondence is already a matter of public record appearing on the Internet for all the world to see. The eyes of the world are upon you. No more letters like the last one.

Blessings for a Kosher and Joyful Pesach.

G-d Bless,

Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri

cc:

Mr. Bobby Brown, Prime Minister's Office
Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's