Shalom,
All of us who love the Machlis Family and the beauty of Judaism and of Jewish Life in Jerusalem that they exude are excited to invide you to join us in the new Torah Shel Chesed Project.
You can read more about how to become an integral part of this exciting new project and help fund the Machlis Shabbat Experience at the same time at our soon-to-be sole and consolidated website www.machlis.org.
Moshe Rudner
If you love what the Machlis Family do through their awesome and unique Shabbat Experience open to one and all as well as all of the kindness that that they bestow and assistance they provide to hundreds of members of Jerusalem’s indigent community, here’s your opportunity to join them as official members of their Shabbat and Chesed programs.
There are 5 levels of membership available at www.machlis.info that allow you to join as an official member of The Machlis Experience, the full amount of which is entirely tax deductible and which you can sign out of via paypal at any time you like.
And after you join please shoot me an email at chesed.lorchim@gmail.com to let me know what names (as an individual, couple, family, in memory of, etc.) to include in future messages and publications that include a list of members. And if you would like to go anonymous that’s fine too but there’s what to be said for the positive impact of doing a mitzvah publicly. It tends to encourage others to do the same, so please consider utilizing yours or your family’s real name.
The Machlises would love to have you join them for a festive celebration of the Yom Tov of Chanukah tomorrow, Tuesday, evening at 8:00 PM at 137/26 Maalot Dafna in Yerushalayim.
Lori Silberman Brauner recently visited Jerusalem and spent a Shabbat with the Machlises. She recounted her experiences in the New Jersey Jewish News here.
It’s a touching article with a beautiful lesson. Enjoy.
The goal of this campaign was to raise $300,000 by July 15th so as to stave off the horrible possibility of the Machlises being forced to close their home to the thousands of people who benefit from their hospitality each month. It was a hope for a major miracle and the full miracle has yet to occur. So many people HAVE donated exceedingly generously and it’s been heartwarming to the point of tears for me to come across so many people who have each been so positively effected by the Machlises as I have, but in cold dollars and cents we’re still a bit of a ways away from where we need to be in order to help get the organization back on its financial feet.
As is often the case in such instances, there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is that the Machlises are still open. Everyone who donated to them over these past few months is to thank for them remaining open. Some debts have been paid, the weekly budget was raised, thousands of people were fed (physically, spiritually and perhaps most importantly, emotionally) and hundreds of people who have no one else to turn to for the trials and tribulations of their lives have been helped by our beloved Jerusalem Hospitality Center based in the Machlis’s home. YOUR contributions accomplished all of that and have granted the entire endeavor an extension on life that will hopefully allow Chesed L’Orchim to continue to do so much good for so many more people for decades to come.
The bad news is the qualifying word “hopefully” in that last sentence.
In past years a few donors contributed practically the entirety of the Machlis’s budget. As you likely know, this is no longer the case and the Machlises have been left with so many people relying on them while they have no safety net in place – which is why they’ve turned to all of us and stepped up somewhat the public message regarding their need for funds. The approximately $80,000 that has come in (or is pledged to come in shortly) has aided the Machlis’s organization tremendously but it isn’t yet enough to guarantee that they won’t have to (God forbid) close within the coming months. What they provide for the world is unique so far as I know and manages to do more good for more people than any other organization of similarly limited budget. Many massive organizations ten times the budgetary size of the Machlis’s modest operation would be very hard pressed to demonstrate that they positively effect more lives – and the future of humanity in a rippling sort of way – than do the Machlises with their exceedingly modest budget. The main reason for this of course being that Rabbi Mordechai and Rebbetzin Henny were born to do this. They love it, give all they have and will continue to give all they have for as long as humanly possible. They require no mission statement and wouldn’t know what to do with one. Every dollar that gets donated to them is guaranteed to be put to use in the best possible way and to get the most mileage out of it in human and in Jewish terms. Everyone who contributes to them has a portion of an unbelievable mitzvah whose effect you can see any time of day when interacting with people whose lives have been changed by the Machlises. (That isn’t to say that ALL of the effects can be seen, considering how many good works people do because they were INSPIRED by the Machlis’s example and no one is the ever the wiser about it. The bang for your buck is truly enormous.) This applies for every dollar donated to them in the past and every dollar that you would like to donate to them in the future. The absolutely BEST part of your current contribution to the Machlises is that if we ARE successful in getting to the higher amounts required ($300,000 before the end of the summer would do it) then we can ensure that the immediate threat to the Machlis home is thwarted for good and that Chesed L’Orchim will be able to get onto a steady financial plan for the future.
What can you do? Contribute what you can is the obvious part of that answer.
(I should note here that the Machlises recently gained the ability to accept “ongoing” donations for anyone who would like to contribute a set amount each week, month or six months. The best way to make a one-time donation would be by check or through the paypal links at the bottom of the www.themachliscampaign.com page. To make an ongoing donation though, please contact Rabbi Machlis or myself directly.)
In sheer PRACTICAL terms though what you may not realize is that you may be able to do even MORE for the Machlises by spreading the word about the campaign to your friends – particularly to people who know about the Machlises and even more particularly to people who may contribute an amount of $1000 or more.
I originally put up this semi-amateurish site with the express intent of addressing YOU, the people who already know the Machlises or who know OF them through someone else. What it usually takes for someone who doesn’t yet KNOW the Machlises to choose to donate, particularly to donate an amount in the $1000 – $5000 range is the personal suggestion or recommendation of someone they know, whether a family member, friend or even online acquaintance.
You can have ten or twenty times the effect of your own contribution by reaching out to others.
On that note, Rabbi Machlis asked me to let people know that the organization has grown beyond what he can cover on his own and he would be willing to have one individual or family underwrite the project and have it renamed in honor or memory of someone else: The Jerusalem — Hospitality Center, run by the Machlises.
If you’re interested in learning more about this or if you know of someone whom Rabbi Machlis can contact regarding this (and you could supply the personal introduction) please contact me and I’ll do everything I can to be of assistance. I can be reached by email at chesed.lorchim@gmail.com and on my cell at 760-880-1584.
God Willing, working together we’ll save the Machlis Home and keep Rabbi and Rebbetzin Machlis’s love and learning available to the thousands (including ourselves!) who seek it,
Moshe Rudner
I’m pleased to let you know that your donations have kept Chesed L’Orchim alive and functioning and have helped and inspired thousands of people these past few months. We’re not out of the woods yet and we’ve got a long road to full recovery and eventual growth even over and above what currently exists (the long term goal is for a dedicated building that would serve as the Jerusalem Hospitality Center for one and all but especially would alleviate, lengthen and ameliorate the lives of dozens of Jerusalemites in need of a place to sleep where they’ll be comfortable, loved and advised) – but the Machlises have been open these past few months and their chances of remaining open have increased tremendously – thanks to you. Please keep it up.
I’m pleased to let you know that your efforts are bearing fruit. Over the past month about $20,000 have come in for the Machlis Experience. Of course we’re not yet out of the woods (by any measure) but the hundreds of Jerusalem’s homeless who rely on the Machlis family have not been disappointed to date. YOU have kept needy Jews in Israel fed, clothed, loved and well taken care of.
Let’s continue to do all we can, primarily by spreading the word to people who would be interested in helping in some substantial manner, and God Willing I look forward to being able to report greater successes as well.
With the campaign having just begun, I don’t want to distract anyone with any campaign “news” before there is any. For now all relevant information about the campaign is up on this site but as the word spreads about the campaign and more of us get involved to save our beloved Machlis Experience in Yerushalayim, I’ll update fairly frequently to keep everyone in the loop. In the meantime, thank you for your generous donation and please help get others involved as well!
All serious inquiries are encouraged to please email me any time at chesed.lorchim@gmail.com. I’m deeply honored to be working with you on saving Chesed L’Orchim and I look forward to staying in close touch and being able to share good news as we get closer to our goal.
May you, your family and loved ones, all of Klal Yisrael and all of mankind be blessed with all of God’s goodness.
Moshe
