ELI PALEY

Sadly, besides the tumor and surgeries, Yossi unfortunately lost his mother very suddenly in the midst of his tribulations. When he was first hospitalized for 3½ months, his mother never missed a day of spending time with him. Her death at 58 was a massive loss.

Eli Paley is a businessman and social activist. He is chairman of the Paley Family Foundation which supports and promotes Torah Centers and social initiatives in the Charedi community. A member of the Jewish Funders Network, he is active in several philanthropic organizations.

We discussed the Mishpacha’s origin, the challenges he is faced with policy decision making, and the overall goals he hopes to attain through the publication.

The next day, Rabbi Keilson addressed the talmidim in yeshiva and approximately 250 boys committed to gathering in an appointed spot once a day for two weeks, from 3 Tammuz until Shiva Asar b’Tammuz to say Asher Yotzar with kavana. Miraculously, just two days later, Yossi was able to go to the bathroom. At that moment, Yossi says, he saw Hashem’s hand and he knew, deep down, he would be okay.

Eli was born in in the Mattesdorff neighborhood in Yerushalayim. His great-grandfather and grandfather arrived in Eretz Yisroel in 1925 to establish the Slabodka Yeshivah in Chevron. Later his grandfather became the assistant to Rabbi Herzel, the chief rabbi of Israel.

What gave Yossi the chizuk to continue to adopt an attitude of being thankful to Hashem, and set him on a campaign to inspire others through his “Asher to the Yatzar” organization, spreading so much meaning throughout the Torah world?

Ceo Of Mishpacha

Eli himself is an alumni of Chevron yeshiva. When he married his wife, a graduate of Michlala in Bayit Vegan, his dream was to continue learning. However, a few months after his marriage, his brother mentioned a new monthly publication called Mishpacha was looking for someone to work as a distributor in Yerushalayim for a day and a half once every 5 to 6 weeks. With flex hours like that, Eli took the job, earning twice as much as he would be for an entire month in a kolel. Financially independent, he continued to learn diligently.

In June 2019, Yossi started feeling tingling pain in his left leg. When his left leg started dragging on the floor, he went to see Dr. Lightman who sent him directly to the emergency room where an MRI of the spine showed the tumor. The tumor was at level T10 which is in the middle of the spine. Everything below that level of the spine was affected.

With the guidance of his Rabbeim, he embarked on a campaign for individuals to have more concentration on the bracha of Asher Yatzar. Since he saw literally saw personal miracles, he has made it his mission to inspire others to be more thankful, using the blessing as a conduit to appreciate all of the good bestowed upon us.

His father, Rabbi Yehuda Paley, bought the Mishpacha Magazine business. To help his father, Eli got involved in the editorial angle of the magazine figuring out how it could make a unique contribution to the field of journalism. He left learning to pursue his new mission to inspire and influence the Chareidi community. It is that idealism that still drives him in his work so many years later.

yingeman from receiving Kollel benefits if he had any other source of income. Therefore, he was forced to register his side job under his wife’s name, a desperate solution used by many. In his publication, he attempts to broker a better solution.

Another example of difficulties that Israeli chareidim face is the draft. Mishpacha discussed population statistics -- one out of four children is Charedi– and how the army and Charedi society can possibly reach a solution.

Unfortunately, Yossi then developed an infection and required further surgery and further catheterization. Yossi decided to make a video about Asher Yatzar because it had worked so well before and he thought that perhaps disseminating videos about the importance of Asher Yatzar would help to heal him yet again.

‘Asher’ refers to praise, and ‘Yatzar’ refers to the Creator of the world. Hence the motto; “Praise to the Creator.” Using a play on words of the bracha, Yossi’s program brings a whole new perspective and meaning to this most powerful blessing that we repeat so many times daily.

The paper is faced daily with Hashkafa decisions that have far-reaching effects on our society. The issue of printing pictures of women in the magazine has been debated back and forth in many forums. When Hilary Clinton was running for President, Mishpacha shocked many readers by publishing a blurry photo of Donald Trump and Hilary on the cover. “We just wanted to see how people would react,” Eli confides.

While Mishpacha is well-received around the world, the goal of Mishpacha is to serve, elevate and be the voice of the Chareidim, particularly in Eretz Yisroel. The real customers are not the advertisers but the audience. Mishpacha seeks to portray an independent voice which is unaffiliated with any political party. In the early years, in the chareidi world of pollicization, this was perceived as a weakness. However, the years have passed, and this freedom has become one of the most salient factors of its success.

Upon hearing the diagnosis, Yossi never thought he was going to die but he did not immediately realize that he would never walk again. He also didn’t realize that sometimes such invasive surgery can affect one’s ability to go to the bathroom. A few days after the surgery, he realized that he was going to be reliant on a catheter. After everything else, this was more than he could handle. He could not imagine having to self-catheterize at all, let alone be reliant on it for the rest of his life.

Mishpacha was the first Charedi publication to give the same respect to the Sephardi and Ashkenazi societies, attempting to create a sense of unity. Over time, this adherence to equality and ahavas Yisrael became the secret to the business’ success.

Mishpacha’s quest in elevating frum society is done through sincere, honest writing. Mishpacha does not engage in pretending that society is perfect. While recognizing the great achievements and accomplishments in the frum world, Mishpacha will tackle even unpleasant issues, albeit in an extremely sensitive way.

Moshe Bree, a cousin of Rabbi Keilson, makes professional videos. He visited the hospital and took a professional video of Yossi himself that was widely disseminated. The feedback was amazing.

Yossi got in touch with his Rebbe, Rabbi Keilson, and asked him to make

When Yossi came home from the hospital, he believed that the Asher Yatzar campaign should be continued. Under the guidance of Rabbi Keilson, he made more videos and printed Asher Yatzar magnets to make people aware of the famous segula of saying this bracha. “Asher to the Yatzar” was launched.

The core message of the campaign is to be mindful of all the good that we have, primarily, the fact that we have a functioning and healthy body that can serve the Creator. Although Yossi has lost use of his lower body, he still has full use of his upper body for which he is very thankful.

When people ask him how he carries on, his answer is simple. “I did not want this but obviously, everything happens for a reason and that’s what Hashem wanted. The changes in my life happened. I lost my mother and had five surgeries and chemotherapy. No one would have asked for all this but at the end of the day, nobody could change it. This is how it is; this is the situation. And I focus on what to be thankful for.”

The office did receive some complaints, but the Gedolim the magazine consults advised them to include her since there was a real possibility Hilary would indeed become president. However, in Israel, an anti-Mishacha publication blasted Mishpacha , claiming they were breaking the rules of modesty and Torah by publishing a picture of Hilary Clinton.

This became a real issue because it was very hard for Eli to justify in his mind why they could not print modest pictures of women, particularly considering how hard it seems to be to explain to ba’alei teshuvah why women are “ignored.” In order to make Mishpacha, often one of their first exposures to Yiddishkeit, more palatable, Eli is comfortable with his decision.

Yossi is occasionally accused of using dark humor about himself and his situation as a coping mechanism, but he explains that any mechanism a person uses to gain acceptance and maturity is valid.

He’s on a big mission: to expose our brothers to true Torah values, and he bears the responsibility seriously. He often employs a different way of thinking, a creative model, a stretch and a twist, that can support our lifestyle while at the same time show that we care about the Israeli economy, security, and its welfare system. “Instead of just complaining about why we are not understood,” Eli explained during the interview, “we must ask what we can do in this field. While we have to make sure that our kids are not too exposed to the big world, the (outside) world exists, and we have to face reality and come up with practical solutions. “

For Yossi, things are by no means easy. Being confined to a wheelchair and having lost his mother at such a crucial time in his life could have left him depressed and complaining. But here is where his emuna shines through the darkness. “This is Hashem’s way; there is no other choice,” he says.

Yossi’s recommendation for people who are struggling is to try to choose simcha. “No one will stop you from being miserable but once the challenge is real, ride with it and make it count. You can either go the right or the left. It’s not easy but just try to do the best and at the end of the day, being happy is a choice.” Yossi himself is trying to choose that path and prays that Hashem should give him the koach to continue on that path without veering.

Rather than hiding his head in the sand, he is ready to take on the problems in our neighbourhoods and cities, working with the authorities instead of against them. Slowly, he believes, we will be able to build better trust.

Eli is proud that Mishpacha does not try to be sensationalist. Rather he makes an effort to keep his editorial policies responsible and sensitive. “If you’re going to do it le’shaim shamayim” Eli ended, “you’ll have disyata d’shmaya to do it right.”

May Hashem grant Yossi the strength to rise above his nisyonos and continue to inspire others, live a fulfilling life, and give nachas to the Creator.