Since well before the establishment of the State of Israel, rabbis from the Holy Land traveled abroad on fund-raising missions for their families and their communities.
They have continued to do this separately and in groups, but never more intensely than in recent times, when confronted with economic sanctions related to encouraging young haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men of conscription age to evade army service.
Recently, yet another group of prominent haredi rabbis went to the US to raise funds for the Olam HaTorah Foundation, which supports the families and study centers of haredi draft dodgers.
Simultaneously, there has been a fresh spate of hard-luck stories about orphan brides and/or grooms; new widows with many children; infants with life-threatening illnesses – and more.
A warning in this column about possible scams, based on identically worded requests sent weeks and even months apart, prompted some requests to be accompanied by handwritten, signed declarations by rabbis attesting to their authenticity.
