Gary M. Cooperberg sounding
the Shofar by the Cave of Machpelah building at the Tombs of our Patriarchs
in Hebron. In the upper right corner is the Nir College of Judaic
Studies, in Kiryat Arba. And the noble face in the sky is that of
Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, shalita, spiritual advisor to Project
Shofar.
What is Project Shofar?
The American Jew is the most endangered species in our exile. Like the European Jew in the thirties, today's American Jew feels no desire to leave his home. Even when calamity strikes and anti-semitism flares, the American Jew will find ways to explain it away and continue to live with it. As such, anyone who dares tell him to move to Israel is asking for trouble. If you want to raise money from the American Jew, don't tell him to leave America. As such, all of the official Zionist organizations (including the Jewish Agency), which are largely financed by American Jews, do not campaign for aliyah. They restrict their efforts to signing up Jews who come to them.
Project Shofar, is taking a new and innovative approach to refrain from fundraising and restrict its activities to educating and assisting Jews toward making plans to come home. The immediate question which arises is, "If you do not intend to raise money, how will this project be financed?"
Project Shofar is designed to be a vehicle for righteous gentiles to fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah 66:18,20:
" . . . it shall come
that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see
my glory;
And they shall bring
all your brethren for an offering unto the L-rd out of all nations . .
."
Not only is the above clearly a "mitzvah" for the nations of the world, but today we find a growing number of Christian Zionists who, on their own, openly recognize Biblical Zionism as the word of G-d and who seek to support it. There are some who have given millions of dollars to finance Jewish return from the former Soviet Union to Israel and who seek to continue this effort in other areas.
I already have begun to establish a Gentile branch of Project Shofar whose purpose is to support Jewish return both politically and financially. It will be from this facet of Project Shofar that our organizational funding will come, thus we will not need to depend upon money from American Jews. This way there is no impediment upon our open advocacy for Jews to come home to Israel. We can speak at synagogues and Jewish organizations, as well as college campuses, to point out to the American Jew why America is not a Jewish haven.
Jewish Identity Centers:
Jewish volunteers with a rich background in Jewish values and knowledge of Judaism and Jewish history will be enlisted to organize local Jewish identity centers in areas of high Jewish population. Posters depicting Jewish topics will greet passers by, a Jewish, Zionist oriented library will be set up, and trained volunteers will be available to speak to visitors. Regular lectures should be arranged at the Center itself, as well as at other locations frequented by Jews. Information about Israel should be plentious and forms should be given out for Jews to fill out, indicating their skills, and when they would like to plan to come home to Israel.
Suitable volunteers should be given training seminars in Israel to prepare them for their work. Regular visits should also be arranged for Rabbi Waldman and myself to local centers and help with the lecture circuit.
Pilot trips should be arranged for interested Jews to focus upon eventual aliyah. Areas of high concentration of Jewish olim in Israel should be visited. Meetings should be arranged with olim and with potential employers.
If Project Shofar is to have any measure of success it will need the help of a great many volunteers. If you agree with me that we need to urgently begin a serious effort of outreach to encourage the Jewish people to come home as soon as possible, then contact me. Tell me what you are prepared to do to help this effort.
If enough people respond and we can put together a nationwide chain of Jewish Identity Centers and arrange for speaking engagements all over the country, I am prepared to do my part.
If you have email I can be reached at
jewishpride@geocities.com
By fax, 972-2-9961778
Don't wait. Stop what ever you are doing now and think how you can help. Then tell me.
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