One of the shticks used by the various tzedaka organizations, specifically Kupat Ha'Ir among others, is to arrange special teffilos at different times of the year on behalf of the donors.
During the Omer and Shvuos time, they traditionally have advertised their offer to daven for you (the donor) at the grave of Rav Yonasan ben Uziel, a.k.a. Amuka, for 40 days straight. Davening at Amuka is known to be a segula for shidduchim, and that combined with the 40 day in a row segula is extremely potent, thus making it a ripe program for pulling in heavy donations.
This year presents a problem. While normally they get around the issue of how to send their minyan on Shabbos or yom tov by sendiong erev and motzei shabbos/YT, this year presents a unique problem. For Shvuos, this year, we have the unusual problem of having a "2 day yom tov". Shvuos is Friday, followed by Shabbos. That means they would have to miss a day and would not get the 40 days in a row.
Somebody was thinking out of the box, as they came up with a viable solution. They have decided to set up a tent outside of Amuka and equip it with a generator. So now, so that you can donate some money to them, they will have a minyan of people leave their homes and places and spend the 2 day yom tov camping out by Amuka so that they can daven for you 40 days in a row with no interruption!
Problem solved! I wonder how much they have to pay the 10 men to spend their shvuos and shabbos camping out there instead of spending it at home with their families...
this brings up an interesting point.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, when my friends (we are girls) and I were just starting out on the shidduch scene, we all came to Israel for the summer and naturally went on a tour of the kevarim.
When it came time to stop at Amuka, my two friends diligently said their tehillim and commited to the amuka process, I on the other hand rolled my eyes and moved on.
Exactly one year later, I was engaged. the other two? they were single for a long long time. a REALLYY long time and did finally get married between 7-10 years after the fact.
just sayin
what?
ReplyDeletethey normally go before YT/Shabbos, and then again after?
there's no way that counts as catching all 40 days! check the shulchan aruch on this one...
if you are referring to motzei shabbos being the next day, I was wondering about that too, as that would mean they are missing shabbos itself... but I preferred to focus on their solution for this year...
ReplyDeletenot G.
ReplyDeleteProbably the guys doing the davening there will be bachurei yeshiva because of the logistical problem. Now can an unmarried person daven as a segula for someone else for them to get married? Hmmm...
More serious is the recent campaign where of Kupat Ha-Ir where they distributed magnets with beracha me'ein shalosh onto the doormats of hundreds or even thousands of houses. Most of them probably went straight into the garbage. Although they didn't have a shem meforash on them, this is still pretty irresponsible, but then what can you expect from an organization whose whole purpose is to help people transgress Rambam Hilchot Matanot Aniyim 10:16-17 and Shulhan Arukh Yoreh De'ah 255:1?
Sorry to digress, but is this halakha less important than Shulhan Arukh Yoreh De'ah 199:6 that we were dealing with yesterday?
I did not see the magnets, or see any notice about them. feel free to scan one, email it to me and I will post it...
ReplyDeletewhat bothered me more than who will go is the expense involved. obviously it will cost a lot of money. They waste so much on their bright packaging already (glossy brochures and all the rest), now they are using tzedaka money to hire a generator, a tent, accommodations and food for this ploy...
not G.
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't have one of the magnets. I already put it in geniza...
I have this same problem with lots of tzedaka organizations that send gifts to their donors. I don't give money to tzadaka in order to get a gift before Rosh HaShanah. I have even on occasion deliberately given less than the amount that qualifies me for a gift in order not to get one. More efficient use of my money :-).
you would have enjoyed the Letter to the Editor in the Hamodia last week. I think bluke posted it...
ReplyDeleteOn that note, I remember I was in the office of the owner of the company i work for. He donates a lot of money to tzedaka. It was purim tiume, and he walsk in and sees a large shalachmanos on his desk. he got very upset when he saw it was form one of the tzedakas he donates to. I heard him talking about how he does not need shalachmanos form them and he does not donate money to them for them to waste it on things like this....
In Making Of A Godol, R. Nosson Kamenetzky shows that the whole Amukah thing is a scam made up by a tour operator a few decades ago.
ReplyDeleteOy Vey!I have a segula for you Rafi:
ReplyDeleteGo do this meme, it's a segula for not catching you-know-what-flu.
Try it, you"ll like it!
in terms of motza'ei Shabbos being the next day, they "address" that in one of their fliers. They say that "Harav Eidelstein* and the Nadvorner Rebbe have stated that when the prayers are held at Amuka all day on Friday and thereafter on Motzoaei Shabbos until chatzos, it is considered 'consecutive.' In fact, this method has the advantage that specific requests may be mentioned."
ReplyDeleteWhy this should help, they do not explain. Bli neder, I intend to post a thing or two about the flier, so perhaps today or tomorrow I'll post a scan.
kt,
josh
these idiots need to be stopped already - theyre a bunch of heretics and they think that were naive to buy into this nonsense that some mystical powers will bless anyone who falls for their scam
ReplyDelete