From
Lag to Lag
Every Day, All Year, At the Kever of Rabi Shimon
Every Day Al at Keve
Rashbi – Where the Shechinah Rests
What Jew does not feel an intense spiritual yearning when the words “Rabi Shimon bar Yochai” and “Meron” are uttered? Since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, the exiled Shechinah has remained connected to many of our holy sites, including the kivrei tzaddikim. At kever Rashbi, the Jewish heart rejoices as it senses an exceptionally strong connection to the Divine. Kupat Ha’ir will be sending a special messenger to Meron – to the tziyun of the saintly Tanna Rabi Shimon bar Yochai – every single day of the year, beginning from Lag B’Omer 5771 until Lag B’Omer 5772! Every single day throughout the year, the messenger from Kupat Ha’ir will mention the names of contributors to Kupat Ha’ir along with their requests. Every day for an entire year, tefillos will be offered on your behalf at the holy tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai, that you should merit a personal yeshuah. Consider how much effort it takes to reach the kever of Rabi Shimon even just once a month. Here we’re talking about a daily visit – by a choshuve talmid chacham, a distinguished Yid who has been specially chosen by Kupat Ha’ir to serve as a holy shaliach, to deliver the tefillos and bakashos of the fortunate donors to the kever of Rabi Shimon, zy”a. This shaliach sees his mission as a holy task, one for which he engages in intense preparation. He begins by reciting chapters of Tehillim according to a special seder established by Gedolei Torah, and only then, when he is already immersed in tefillah, does he turn his attention to the names of the donors, praying for each one as if he were his only son. Indeed, each and every Jew is like the only son of the Ribbono shel Olam. Each and every Jew is like a son to Rabi Shimon bar Yochai, whose soul contains a spark of all the souls in the world. A prayer uttered each and every day at his kever, for a
whole year – who can estimate its value? Throughout the year, millions of Yidden visit Meron and the kever of Rashbi, and every one of them is profoundly affected by the experience. Everyone, no matter what his spiritual state, somehow feels able to forge a special path directly to Shamayim, just by virtue of being at the kever. Now imagine forging such a path each and every day, for a whole year! Not just forty consecutive days, but an entire year of exalted tefillah! An entire year of having your name mentioned at the kever of Rabi Shimon, an entire year of a devoted shaliach davening that your specific request be fulfilled, in the zechus of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai! Before the days of Kupat Ha’ir, such a thing was unimaginable. Even if someone were to rent an apartment near the site, determined to pray there every
All Year ver Rashbi
Rashbi, davening for every single donor to Kupat Ha’ir, every single request made, that they should merit a yeshuah.
day, there would certainly be times when he wouldn’t manage it, for all kinds of reasons – simchos, illness… To daven at the kever every single day for a whole year? Impossible! Who would dare to make such a promise? Kupat Ha’ir can make that promise! Over the past ten years, we’ve weathered every imaginable type of obstacle in order to keep our many commitments to tefillah sessions – and we’ve seen countless miracles. Clear siyatta diShmaya proves more than anything else that our deeds are desirable in the eyes of Hashem. We can promise that with Hashem’s help there will always be a shaliach! We also arrange for a back-up messenger, in case of difficulties, and an emergency shaliach, too. We’ll do anything and everything necessary to ensure that a promise made is a promise kept. Every single day, a worthy shaliach will be at kever
Every Day On The Calendar
Today is your anniversary. Twenty-four years ago on this date, you stood beneath the chuppah. You received many gifts from Hashem, along with many issues with which to grapple. You want to thank Hashem for all the blessings, and also to ask for His help with all the challenges He has given you. You yearn to celebrate this day with your children, each one having found his zivug at the right time. You want to celebrate with grandchildren, each one of them healthy in body and soul. Nothing could be more meaningful for you, on this day, than the knowledge that a messenger from Kupat Ha’ir will be at the tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai, praying on behalf of you and your family. There, the gates of Shamayim are open wide, and your prayers soar upward… on that day, and every day. Maybe you just returned from the tragic levayah of a close friend. Your emotions are in turmoil – you are filled with compassion for the young widow and orphaned children. For the first time, you confront man’s mortality and fear for the safety of your own family. Today, too, a messenger from Kupat Ha’ir will be visiting Rabi Shimon and praying on your behalf. He will daven for Hashem’s protection for all widows and orphans, and that you should never know such tragedy in your own life. Your son is getting married and your heart is bursting as you see him at the threshold of a new stage of life. No amount of prayer can suffice on such a day, as you daven intensely that he merit to establish righteous generations. Today, too, your personal messenger will be at the tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, where
Maran Hagaon Harav
Aharon Leib Steinman shlit״a
praying on behalf of contributors to Kupat Ha׳ir at the holy tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai at Meron
he will pour out his heart in prayer on your – and your son’s – behalf. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Hoshana Rabba and Zos Chanukah, Purim and Shavuos – every single day of the year, every date on the calendar, every time that you have an important meeting, every time a child has a big test, every time that you cross the street carelessly and a car stops short just in time… On every one of these days, a messenger from Kupat Ha’ir stands at the kever of Rabi Shimon, his lips uttering your name. Angels of protection and blessing, angels of salvation , rescue and joy descend from Shamayim to protect you and your loved ones. Consider how many times throughout the year you will pause for a moment, lift your eyes Heavenward and feel a surge of relief: you have an emissary to the Ribbono shel Olam, working on your behalf! You have a messenger at Meron, at the tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai. Today, he will daven for you there, and tomorrow, too, a talmid chacham will beseech Hashem on your behalf. Deep, deep down, you maintain a constant connection to that holy site. You’re there! Your name is mentioned there every single day! Not just anywhere. At Rashbi’s kever. At Meron!
Custom-Made Tefillos A prayer offered on your behalf, every day, for a whole year. But the prayer can evolve with your specific needs at each and every occasion. Sometimes, health issues will be uppermost in your mind; at other times, it could be parnassah, or success in learning, for you or your children… Every day is different, every day your life changes. But through it all, you’re there – at Meron. The tefillos of your personal shaliach at Meron can encapsulate everything that’s going on in your life, in real time. Just one telephone call, and your individual request will be entered into your square on the chart. It will be immediately passed on to the shaliach, who will faithfully fulfill his task – to daven for your specific needs. Sometimes, it might be a tefillah for a married child, who has not yet merited zera shel kayama; or, it could be a plea that a close friend should have a refuah sheleimah. On a birthday, the day of a simchah, before you bring your young son to cheder for the first time… your heartfelt wishes on that day will be uttered by the lips of your personal shaliach, at the holy kever of Rabi Shimon. Sending a child off on the bus in the morning is totally different, when you know someone is davening for him, at
Rashbi’s tziyun. Sending your bachur away to yeshivah is totally different, when you know that a tefillah is being offered on his behalf, every day, in Meron. Who wouldn’t want to gain this incredible merit for himself – the tremendous zechus of having a personal shaliach, dedicated to pleading for his needs, at Meron? Our daily lives are so complex, so stressful, so harried, that this can hardly be considered a luxury! Others will want to give this incredible gift to someone else – a friendor a loved one. Just imagine receiving in the mail a card informing you that you are the beneficiary of a special tefillah program, whereby your name will be mentioned at kever Rashbi, every single day for a whole year! And not just that – you will also be given the opportunity to add specific requests to the tefillos uttered at a place where the sha’arei Shamayim are always wide open. What better gift could there be? A gift that encompasses this world, and the next. Life – parnassah, health, offspring – in this world; and life – chinuch, spiritual ascent – in the next. Everything! Never before has there been such a concept. Now, it can be yours, too.
For a small, daily sum, you can merit all this for yourself or a friend – or both. Shefa from Shamayim – both spiritual and material. Everything! The kever of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai is steeped in ancient majesty. Everyone who visits the site feels strong spiritual stirrings, an incredible longing to cleave to Hashem. The soul yearns to be with its Creator; a pathway opens and stretches directly Heavenward. Will your name soar upward at that holy site for an entire year, day after day? Will your tefillos rise from there to Hashem’s throne, bringing about a wealth of abundance for you? Only you know the answer. Only you know the answer. The money with which you can purchase this merit for yourself goes to save thousands of families, from tzaros that cannot be compressed into a few sentences. Poverty, hunger, illness, unbearable pain – pain that rips the heart to shreds. Entire families of our Jewish brethren. With the money you contribute, you bring light into their lives. One zechus joins another. Tears of joy replace tears of pain. Lighting up the world – Klal Yisrael b’achdus.
F rom
Lagto Lag
Every day for an entire year at the kever of Rabi Shimon. Throughout the year, from Lag B’Omer 5571 through Lag B’Omer 5772, a shaliach from Kupat Ha’ir will visit the tziyun of the holy Tanna, Rabi Shimon bar Yochai, in order to pray on behalf of contributors to Kupat Ha’ir, that they merit salvation and blessing. He will recite each name and its accompanying request.
ברזכות התנא האלוקי בי שמעון בר יוחאי
Names may be submitted via Kupat Ha’ir’s telephone hotline until midnight on Motzoei Shabbos, Lag B’Omer 5771. Requests may be changed during the year.
When was the Satmar Re bbe, zy”a, in Eretz Yisrael? Why will your boss offe r to double your salary? What should you do whe n you make a mistake whi le reciting Shemoneh Esre i and what does that have to do with anything? Who tied a scarf around his ears? Read the following lines to learn ever ything there is to know about a most uniq ue journey… and another few things, too.
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Meron Riddle: Where is tefillah at the tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai mentioned for the first time? Answer: The sources are ancient indeed. Already in the times of the Tanna’im, Rabi Abba and Rabi Chiya traveled to Meron to daven there. The Midrash in Koheles Rabba (10:10) relates the story of a talmid who forgot his studies and went to pray at the tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai – after which he merited a tremendous miracle. The Shelah Hakadosh writes: “A number of miracles have occurred there.” The saintly Ohr Hachaim was so overcome with fear and awe when he arrived at Mount Meron that he crawled forward on hands and feet as he approached the tziyun. When the Satmar Rebbe, zy”a, visited Eretz Yisrael before the Second World War, he prostrated himself at the entrance to the cave and sighed with longing: “Oy, Rabi Shimon!”. The Rebbe remained in Meron for an entire week! In our generation, too, many thousands of people have merited yeshuos after davening at the kever of Rashbi. There are countless “Shimons” learning in chadarim all around the world, born after their parents pleaded
Te f Ya h r
for offspring at the holy tziyun. Shidduchim completed, chinuch issues resolved, sick people healed… almost everyone has a story to tell. And it is well known that even techiyas hameisim has occurred at the tziyun, in the zechus of the holy Tanna. There’s no denying the facts: people whose names were mentioned in Meron declare unequivocally that their lives have changed for the better. Lag B’Omer at Meron. Circle within circle, all of Am Yisrael dancing shoulder to shoulder. The air is alive with incredible enthusiasm and indescribable kedushah, as Jews from every segment of Klal Yisrael come together in joy and unity of purpose, proudly proclaiming as one: Ashreichem, ashreichem Yisrael… On the day of Rabi Shimon’s petirah, a fire was ignited that will never be extinguished. On each and every Lag B’Omer, sparks fly from the bonfire igniting the hearts and minds of all Jews present, inspiring them to turn their lives back toward Hashem. Do you want to be a part of this? On this day, when the gates of Shamayim open, you want to know that a prayer on your behalf will wing its way upward, uttered by the pure lips of a faithful shaliach. On Lag B’Omer, the gaon Harav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, shlit”a, will head a group of emissaries from Kupat Ha’ir to daven at the holy tziyun on the behalf of all the contributors. Although you yourself can’t be there, you can be reassured that your personal tefillah will soar upward in Meron on that day, to be answered in the merit of the holy Tanna. It was none other than Rabi Shimon bar Yochai who declared: “I can absolve this whole generation from din!” Even if, chalilah, the middas hadin is dominant, and we are not deserving of a yeshuah, Rabi Shimon has
efillos hrtzeits
names and requests of the donors. A unique opportunity to enable your tefillah to soar – an opportunity you don’t want to miss!
promised to serve as the best possible advocate for us in Shamayim. Someone whose name is mentioned at the tziyun on the yahrtzeit can rest assured that he will be protected. Every penny of your money goes to tzedakah. It’s a onetime donation. So why hesitate? You cannot allow yourself to miss Meron 5771.
Cracow Did you know that Lag B’Omer is also the yahrtzeit of another great tzaddik? The Rem”a, R’ Moshe Isserles, zt”l, was niftar on the thirtythird day of the Omer in the year 5333, in the city of Cracow. For generations, the kever of the Rem”a attracted throngs of Jews on his yahrtzeit. Rabi Shimon bar Yochai delved into the hidden world of Toras Hanistar and Kabbalah. The Rem”a represents the world of Toras Hanigleh through his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch – the basis of halachah. Our daily lives revolve around the piskei halachah of the Rem”a. How do you know wether to don tefillin on Chol Hamoed? What do you do if you make a mistake in Shemoneh Esrei? Imagine how lofty is the status of the Rem”a in Shamayim, considering that so many Yidden live according to his rulings! Now imagine a tefillah at the kever of Rabi Shimon, author of the Zohar Hakadosh, followed by a tefillah at the kever of the Rem”a! And not just any tefillah, but one recited by Hagaon Harav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, shlit”a, together with a delegation from Kupat Ha’ir. After traveling to Meron, the group will board a plane to Poland, where they will prostrate themselves at the kever of the Rem”a, on his yahrtzeit, and mention all the
Riminov
The thirty-fourth day of Sefiras HaOmer is the yahrtzeit of the saintly Reb Menachem Mendel of Riminov, zy”a. A modest grave in a remote part of Poland, a poor excuse for a road, grass swaying in the breeze… Not very impressive, but on the thirtyfourth day of the Omer, the gates of Shamayim open at this precise spot. On the yahrtzeit of a tzaddik, the neshamah descends to the kever to collect the tefillos that have accumulated, thereafter working to accomplish great things in Shamayim. When Reb Menachem Mendel of Riminov was alive, he had to tie a scarf around his ears to block out the sound of the sun as its rays soared through the sky. He was privy to Divine secrets, and through him, many Yidden merited a yeshuah. For twenty-two years, Reb Menachem Mendel mentioned Parashas Hamann in his drashos, to arouse Heavenly abundance for his generation. Those who recognized his greatness knew that their i n c o m e was in his merit… If such was his power during his lifetime, imagine how much he can achieve now! Harav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, shlit”a, will remain in Poland until the thirty-fourth day of the Omer, when he will travel to Riminov together with the delegation from Kupat Ha’ir. There, they will recite many tefillos and light a candle at the kever for each donor, and then pray on the behalf of all the contributors, also mentioning their specific requests.
A unique journey – from Meron to Cracow to Riminov… Rabi Shimon, the Rem”a, Reb Menachem Mendel… A journey you can’t afford to miss. Your one-time donation will purchase you a virtual ticket on this unique trip! Don’t wait – make the call now! And just one more thing… don’t forget to call us again, and let us know when your yeshuah arrives!!
Dear Kupat Ha׳ir
I request that messengers of Kupat ha׳ir pray on my behalf Every day throughout the year
On the day of Lag Ba׳omer At the tziyun of
At the tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai
Rashbi in Meron And at the tziyun of the
Rem״a in Cracow
Beginning from Lag B’Omer 5771 until Lag B’Omer 5772
And on the thirty-fourth day of the Omer at the tziyun of Harav Hakadosh Reb
The shaliach will mention your name together with your personal request
Menachem Mendel of Riminov on his yahrtzeit
A candle will also be lit in your merit, and your name will be mentioned individually by messengers of Kupat Ha’ir Headed by Hagaon Rav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, shlit”a For a single contribution of $120
Your request may be changed throughout the year For a monthly contribution of $50 x 12 months
Names may be submitted until midnight on Motzoei Shabbos, leil Lag B’Omer
How do I donate to Kupat Hair? 1
By contributing to rabbanim accepting contributions on our behalf: Rabbi Malkiel Kotler shlit”a
Rabbi Aron Schechter shlit”a
Rabbi Moshe Wolfson shlit”a
Rabbi Chaim Leib Epstein shlit”a
521 5th Street Lakewood, New Jersey 08701
1248 East 12th Street Brooklyn, New York 11230
1574 43rd Street Brooklyn, New York 11219
1608 46th Street Brooklyn, New York 11204
Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser shlit”a
Rabbi Don Blumberg shlit”a
Rabbi Chaim Schabes shlit”a
Rabbi Ephraim E. Shapiro shlit”a
Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg shlit”a
1336 East 21st Street Brooklyn, New York York 11210
4 Yale Drive Monsey, NewYork 10952
7 Barrie Drive Spring Valley NY 10977
971 NE 172nd Street North Miami Beach FL. 33162
Shmuel Berenbaum zt”l 1795 East 7th Street Brooklyn, New York 11223
Home of Rabbi
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By mail: Kupat Hair 4415 14th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11219
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Via Email: Send your credit card or bank info to: info@kupat.org
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Online at: www.kupat.org
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Via credit card or check by phone 24 hours a day at:
568 Kensington Place Cedarhurst, N.Y. 11516
1-888KUPATHA 1-888-KUPATHA IR IR 5
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For all information or to receive a pushka call 1-800-233-2188 Our office number in Israel: 3-671-6994
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