An unprecedented campaign on behalf of the Torah world will take place next Wednesday, during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, when approximately 20,000 seminary girls across Israel will set aside their regular studies to participate in a special telephone campaign for the Keren Olam HaTorah.
The initiative is designed to bring the effort to support yeshivos and kollelim into homes across Israel, giving families the opportunity to participate in the mitzvah of supporting Torah.
The campaign comes amid the severe financial crisis facing the Torah world following significant cuts to yeshivah and kollel budgets, as well as growing deficits at Torah institutions.
Keren Olam HaTorah was established to help make up for the funding cuts and assist yeshivos and kollelim in continuing their operations. The campaign will now enter a new phase, calling on the broader public to join the effort.
In an unusual move, the heads of the Union of Seminaries visited the homes of Gedolei Yisroel, HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau and HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, and received guidance ahead of the initiative.
The Gedolim instructed that seminary girls should actively participate in the campaign. Accordingly, study hours will be dedicated to the project next Wednesday, with seminaries across Israel becoming centers of activity on behalf of the Torah world.
As part of the campaign, the girls will call relatives and friends, explain the financial situation facing Torah institutions and encourage them to contribute toward supporting yeshivos and kollelim.
Organizers expect a massive telephone network to be established within several hours, connecting thousands of classrooms and institutions with tens of thousands of homes.
In a special letter ahead of the campaign, HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau called on seminary girls to participate and not miss out on the important mitzvah. He also asked the public to answer the girls’ calls with an open heart.
HaRav Landau blessed the participants and donors, saying, “Kesivah V’chasimah Tovah, and may all their heartfelt wishes be fulfilled for the good, with health, proper shidduchim soon, and nachas.”
HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch also blessed the initiative, describing it as having special spiritual significance.
“There will be something very great here, that all of Klal Yisroel will participate in one great mitzvah—the Torah of Eretz Yisroel,” he said.
Ahead of the campaign, Keren Olam HaTorah chairman Rabbi Reuven Wolf and the fund’s leadership visited the homes of several leading Admorim to present the initiative and its scope.
Representatives of the fund met with the Admorim of Boyan, Slonim and Karlin-Stolin, who expressed their support, offered blessings for its success and encouraged the organizers ahead of the campaign.
The fund’s leadership said that the support of the Admorim is an important component of the effort to involve as much of Klal Yisroel as possible in supporting Torah institutions.
The goal is that on the same day, as seminary study schedules pause for several hours, one message will be heard across Israel: Klal Yisroel is mobilizing on behalf of the Torah world.
Organizers emphasized that this is not a routine fundraising campaign, but an effort in which tens of thousands of seminary girls will reach out to families across the country, with each call offering another household the opportunity to join the campaign and support Torah.
Additional seminaries interested in joining the initiative are asked to contact the campaign hotline at *6881, extension 4.
The public is urged to answer the girls’ calls during these days of rachamim and Selichos, receive them warmly and open their hearts to support the Torah world.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
One Response
This is a powerful demonstration of unity and purpose. Mobilizing 20,000 seminary girls to support Torah institutions shows a profound commitment to the future of our heritage. When an entire community, from students to leading Rabbanim, comes together for a shared spiritual goal, it creates an impact far beyond the financial. It reminds us that the continuity of Torah is a collective responsibility, and every individual plays a vital role. This kind of grassroots effort, connecting homes across Israel, builds a stronger foundation for everyone.