אדמו"ר מסוקלען שליט"א גייט אויף לארנוס
Skulener Rebbe, Leader Of Chesed L'Avraham, To Visit Lawrence, September 10
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Published on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - COMMENTS (0)
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There are places where the hachnasas orchim tradition of Avraham Avinu is fulfilled in full—not just inviting guests for a meal, but welcoming people in, even if they are totally down and out and others have rejected them. Bring them in, show them love, and then change their lives forever.
That is being done every day in the 4 children's homes and 73 chapters of Chesed L'Avraham across Eretz Yisrael. Orphans, troubled children, and abused kids looking for respite come to the doors of Chesed L'Avraham homes. Some are scarred on their arms and legs; others are scarred in their hearts and souls. Some are as young as six years old. They don't trust adults. They find them fearsome. That's not what the Ribbono shel Olam had in mind when He created this world.
Chesed L'Avraham continues the tradition begun by the Skulener Rebbe, zy'o, when he took hundreds of frightened war orphans into his home. He and his rebbetzin wiped away their tears, held them close, and gave them hope. He smuggled them to Eretz Yisrael to enable them to grow up as free Jews. He and his son, the present Rebbe, shlita, established the Torah and chesed network that has made a difference to the lives of over 50,000 young people in Eretz Yisrael.
As the Rebbe has always emphasized, Chesed L'Avraham is not just a Skulener enterprise; it is the achrayus of the k'lal for the younger generations that he has had the honor to help maintain.
In the chesed homes, the av and eim ha'bayit make all these children part of their own families. With the berachah and encouragement of the Rebbe, they reach out and have a positive effect on their lives. Their children become role models for the residents, and the family warmth enables them to live an emotionally and physically healthy life. The chesed homes have a full staff of therapists and social workers to ensure that the children's fears are addressed and assuaged. Baruch Hashem, the homes are an oasis of calm and the children flourish.
A chesed bar mitzvah is a truly joyful experience, and many supporters seek to sponsor them—the tefillin, new clothes, and seudah. For many of the families of these boys, it is the first time in many years that they have been in a shul. They cannot believe that this is their son and brother bedecked in tefillin who strides so confidently up to the Torah, leins flawlessly, and at the seudah delivers a pshetel b'al peh. The transformation is nothing short of dramatic.
But the task does not end there. After their graduation from elementary school, Chesed L'Avraham helps the boys to choose and enroll in a good mesivta where they can grow in their lamdus, yedios, and ruchniyus. As long as the boys need the connection and support, Chesed L'Avraham is there for them.
The Chesed girls' home in Bnei Brak is a phenomenon in the development of b'nos Yisrael. As with the boys, the girls come from various unhappy backgrounds. Had they not crossed the threshold of Chesed L'Avraham they would all be excellent candidates to continue cycles of neglect and abuse with their own children. Rebbetzin Leah Liba Stern, daughter of the Rebbe, takes a personal interest in every girl. In addition, there is an eim ha'bayit who is there full time. Therapists are on hand for the many hours of counseling needed, and an air of calm and happiness permeates the homes.
While all the girls attend a local Bais Yaakov school, preparing them for a life as an eishes chayil is also important. For many there is a lot of catching up to do in limudei kodesh and they receive tutoring and other help. Much emphasis is placed on their social skills and ability to run a home. Under supervision, they learn important homemaking skills such as cooking, sewing, budgeting, and decorating, to name a few.
When it comes to shidduchim, the responsibility is taken on by Chesed L'Avraham. This includes ''checking out'' the young man, meeting with the mechutanim, making the wedding arrangements, and finding and furnishing an apartment with the basics. In addition, Chesed L'Avraham commits itself to the first six months' rent. An average of 12 chesed marriages take place each year, at an average cost of $25,000. Hundreds of people attend and are mesameiach chasan and kallah, because a chesed wedding is a true simcha of the k'lal.
A chesed revolution. The network of the afternoon moadanim is another crowning jewel of chesed and the derech of Avraham Avinu. Well over 3,000 children from public schools leave their friends and attend an afternoon of Torah, inspiration, and fun at a Chesed L'Avraham moadon. It is not uncommon to see mothers with no semblance of tzenius bringing their children each and every afternoon. Some travel almost an hour each way. When asked why they come, their inevitable reply is, ''I know what's happening on the streets and I saw what Chesed L'Avraham did for my neighbor's child. If he can become a decent human being, and that is done through the mesorah and Torah, tavo alav berachah.''
Chesed L'Avraham has become an answer to the gangs and wild afternoon activities for latchkey kids who seem to have no direction in their lives, or for those who are seeking an alternative to emptiness. There are separate chapters for boys and girls. Most meet on Shabbos as well.
From time to time there are trips and tiyulim, and every month there is a four-day Shabbaton where the youngsters go to Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak. There they have the opportunity to meet frum Jews who are so unlike the media caricatures of the fearsome chareidim. They see yeshivas and the excitement of a Torah life. The highlight, of course, is the Shabbos experience. The snowball effect is making Chesed L'Avraham a growing power in changing the spiritual landscape of the Holy Land.
Lawrence visit by the Skulener Rebbe. On Thursday, September 10, the Skulener Rebbe, shlita, the driving force of Chesed L'Avraham, is scheduled to visit Lawrence. The community is invited to visit with the Rebbe at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Edelman at 49 Lawrence Avenue at 8:30 p.m. The scheduled guest speaker is HaRav Ephraim Wachsman, shlita, a prominent marbitz Torah and rosh yeshiva of Meor Yitzchok.
The Rebbe has not been able to travel and attend to fundraising activities as in the past, and Chesed L'Avraham has, unfortunately, suffered a hard year. Please reserve the date to attend this event and have a z'chus in saving future Yiddishe doros. It promises to be a most inspiring evening. For further information, please call 718-384-6642.
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