Sderot Shabbat
The Orthodox Union announces Sderot Shabbat and Sderot Emergency Fund to aid and comfort traumatized residents
The programs are a joint initiative of the OU and the Rabbinical Council of America, under the direction of Rabbi Basil Herring, and have been underway for several months. Currently, the goal is to expedite fundraising efforts so they could reach a larger number of victims quickly.
Thursday, OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and his wife Chavi, who together with four other philanthropists, visited Sderot, experienced the terror firsthand as they were forced to take cover under a table when the siren sounded.
Member congregations across North America were called upon to designate Saturday, June 9, as Shabbat Sderot to raise $250,000 for four different projects.
“While Chavi and I have now left the city, many thousands of its residents fully intend to remain there, whatever the consequences,” Rabbi Weinreb said in a letter to members.
The projects include:
- A Trauma Team, aimed at expanding the OU’s crisis, art and drama therapy and one-and-one counseling with youngsters experiencing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
- Makom Balev – Camp Spirit and Fun for parents and children, a two-week summer camp in Israel for 70 of Sderot's families.
- Sapir College Jewish Education Seminars, the creation of a Hillel-type program, with classes, trips and Shabbatonim, to help inspire and strengthen both the students, and through them, the population surrounding the Sderot college.
- Lev Yehudi (Heart of a Jew) – Informal adult education through the city, including classes in the synagogues, Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation, and a variety of other events.
“We fully intend to raise the entire $250,000 over one Shabbat,” declared OU President Stephen J. Savitsky. “We are confident that our rabbis and their congregations will give from the heart to help relieve the suffering of the people of Sderot.”
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