Community Magazine October 2012

Community Chest Thousands Participate in Historic Dirshu Kinyan Torah Test The rows upon rows of tables squeezed with as many people as possible taking the first Dirshu Kinyan Torah test in the 13th cycle of the Daf Yomi, was a sight to behold. The numbers alone are mindboggling. Some 3,000 individuals in North America, and another 13,000 throughout the rest of the world, participated in this rigorous, 30-question exam which tested their proficiency in the 30 pages of Talmud studied in the previous month’s Daf Yomi program. In addition to the more than 100 testing sites in Israel, numerous new testing sites have opened all across North America and in other continents, and many of the existing sites have had to move to larger venues. Places that have never before hosted Dirshu tests, such as Phoenix, Arizona; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Carteret, New Jersey, have now joined the Dirshu family. Here in New York, four testing sites were opened in Brooklyn alone. In virtually every major testing station, Dirshu had to struggle to ensure there were enough seats and tests to accommodate the waves of people. One of the most beautiful aspects of the event was the wonderful mosaic of all the different segments of Jewish participants who joined together, with a unity forged through Torah study. Rav Dovid Schustal, Rosh Yeshiva of Lakewood, put it best when he said, “All of the hundreds here in Lakewood and the many thousands worldwide have taken upon themselves an undertaking, a kabalah [commitment] to learn the entire Shas! How much Divine protection have these lomdei [students of] Dirshu provided for Klal Yisrael?” Across Europe, the numbers of participants have tripled, and in some areas even sextupled. Rav Aharon Gobioff, Dirshu’s director of operations in the United States, related, “The recent Dirshu World Siyum profoundly affected Klal Yisrael. What was once viewed as impossible has been proven possible. The Dirshu Siyum hammered home the idea that a motivated person can really know Shas.” – Chaim Gold Charity Giving Goes Hi Tech with Charitysafebox.com Charity Safe Box is now using QR codes for a quick, secure solution for making and organizing charitable donations. Smartphone users can just scan a barcode (like the one on this page) to reach the “Register Now” page on the Charity Safe Box website (chari- tysafebox.com) . After the two-minute registration process, users will have their own secure, registered page with a personal account that is available on the website at all times for review. Users can also select “remember me on this device” to save you time for future logins. With a click of a button, donors can access their annual report, print it, or e-mail it directly to their accountant. Charity Safe Box gives every registered solicitor a smart card ID with a QR code. Scanning the code will automatically bring potential donors to Charity Safe Box’s comprehensive information page on the solicitor’s organization. On this page users can click to see endorse- ments, other user’s comments, what the collection is for, how much the goal is, and how much has been raised so far. By clicking “donate now,” users can select how much to donate and whether to make a one-time donation, a monthly donation, or an annual donation. Charity Safe Box will then securely apply the donation to the user’s registered credit card or checking account and transfer the donation instantly to the registered solicitor’s account. Charity Safe Box conducts a full background check into each solicitor through its large network of rabbis in Israel, Brooklyn and Manhattan, and collects, organizes, and translates a summary of all authorizations, consents, endorsements, and approbations. This process allows Charity Safe Box to disqualify fraudulent, spurious and deceptive solicitors. CharitySafeBox.com is endorsed by leading community rabbis and is recommended as the preferred way to give charity. Donors around the community are encouraged to ask all solicitors for their smart card ID from Charity Safe Box. Solicitors who do not have a smart ID card, should be encouraged to register for one at the Madison Torah Center, 2223 Avenue R. Charity safe box is a registered 501 c3, and all donations are tax deductible. TISHREI 5773 OCTOBER 2012 87