Communications with the
Chief Rabbinate
Following the multiple terrorist attacks culminating with the Dizengoff bombing on Purim, it was decided to go public with our restoration of the Half-Shekel, also connected with Purim, to raise the morale of the Jewish people worldwide. The following correspondence was initiated with the Chief Rabbinate of the State of Israel so that that office would be prepared to answer questions once the announcements hit the press.


The most recent correspondence

LETTER TO RABBI ISRAEL MEIR LAU, CHIEF RABBI OF ISRAEL
7th Nisan, 5756 (27th March, 1996)

Your Honor 
The Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau 
Jerusalem 

Your Honor Rabbi Lau, G-d is with you! 

My name is Reuven Prager. You know me by sight if not by name. I was also close with Reb Shlomo (Carlebach). My work of the last 12 years has been researching to restore ancient Israelite customs in preparation for rebuilding the Holy Temple, according to Halachah (Jewish Law). To date, I have restored our national dress and our ancient marriage ceremony, to wit, the Jerusalem of Gold bridal crown, Aperion (Royal Wedding Litter), Canopy of Bridegrooms, and Jerusalem's Royal Litter Bearers. I also distribute Techelet (Biblical Blue fringes) worldwide for Radzin, and have located and distribute the 11 spices of the Ketoret (Temple Incense) for Havdallah and educational purposes. My work has received international recognition and I do annual world tour speaking about our efforts. 

My current project is to restore the Half-Shekel. To that end, the enclosed public service announcement will appear in the April 1st edition of the Jerusalem Post International. Since the Chief Rabbinate will be involved in this project and out of respect for you personally, I am giving you an advance copy so that you have time to familiarize yourself with the subject and not be caught off-guard, and embarrassed G-d forbid. 

I am available to you any time of the day or night to answer any and all questions you have regarding this project. 

Have a great Pesach! 

G-d Bless, 

Reuven Prager

 

RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (Received 5/15/96)
10th Iyar, 5756 (29th April, 1996) 
Mr. Reuven Prager 
Agrippas Street 111 
P.O.Box 28052 
Jerusalem 

Shalom and Blessings, 

I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter in the office of the Honorable Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Israel Meir Lau. 

According to the instructions of Rabbi Yosef Schwartz it is custom today in the afternoon prayer of the Fast of Esther to do a "rememberance of the Half-Shekel" as appears in various lists of laws and customs. 

Respectfully,

Rabbi Raphael Frank


LETTER TO RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
2nd Sivan, 5756 (20th May, 1996)
Rabbi Raphael Frank 
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Chief Rabbinate of Israel 
Jerusalem 

Dear Rabbi Frank, 

Shalom Aleichem! Thank you for your letter of 10th Iyar. I want to preface what follows with this: every word I write is intended with utmost humility, respect, and love. Please bare this in mind as you read on. 

If you re-read my letter of 7 Nisan, you will find that I sought neither instructions or permission. I have full authority to restore the Half-Shekel, the authority that G-d charged my ancestors with, which is no less valid today. The nature of the office of the Chief Rabbinate is to manage the religious affairs in the realm of "what is". The nature of the office of Levi is taking the realm of "what could be" and bringing it into the realm of "what is", at which point it would enter the sphere of the Chief Rabbinate. 

As you know, the Half-Shekel is a Torah Commandment, never banned by the Rabbis. It was donated even after the destruction of the Temple and was sent in by the Jews of the Diaspora. It was finally banned by the Roman Empero Hadrian in 135 CE, for he realised that as long as the Jews gave the Half-Shekel, we had a sense of sovereignty over Jerusalem. The determination of the Sages that "we are not accustomed except in the presence of the Temple" was two-fold; 1) Without Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem there was no practical use for the money. 2) Since Jews were now under gentile authority even in Eretz Yisrael- we could not safeguard the sanctity of the declared coins. The institution of a "rememberance of the Half-Shekel" is to remind us that at the first possibility of renewing the commandment, we are to do so, and it was not intended to become an end in itself. Zecher (remember) by us means Zecher to do, it is not Zecher L'shma (rememberance for its own sake). 

When you take the fact that the Sages informed us "One who sanctifies Shekels without the Temple- Behold it is Holy", and you add the fact that there is now practical use for the money and the means for total control over the sanctified coins due to our renewed sovereignty, and the existance of the Bank of Israel vaults, we have all the means to do it, and since it is a Torah Commandment, we are obligated to do it. Add to this the particular junction in history, when our sovereignty is being challenged over Jerusalem. The reinstitution of the Half-Shekel now will bring joy to both our government ministers and Am Yisrael worldwide. Every Jew will be able to participate in Jerusalem by giving the Half-Shekel. Open your heart, think about it deeply, see my vision. Look at it with the eyes of how can we do it?, not how not to do it. The reinstitution of the Half-Shekel today, right now, will give the spiritual Hechsher that we need as a people to claim Jerusalem as ours eternally. Think about it deeply- see my vision. 

When I wrote to Rabbi Lau, it was to inform him in advance of the publication of the project. It has since been published in over 70 countries world-wide. Please do bring it to his attention as I originally requested. We are taught "In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man." This is your opportunity to be a man. Bring it to him with "Ratzon" (positive willingness). What I could use is a letter from the Chief Rabbi agreeing that: 1)The Half-Shekel is a Torah Commandment, never banned by the Rabbis. 2) Whoever sanctifies the Half-Shekel without the Temple- Behold it is Holy. 3) The Chief Rabbi looks with favor to the success of this endeavor. 

I have a total conception of how to do it, according to Halachah and the laws of the State of Israel concerning the issuing of coins, as well as how the distribtution and collection will be carried out, the fruit of thirteen years of research. I am available to you at any time to clarify questions you may have. If you are going to send me another "we don't do it" letter, save your postage. I am not interested. 

Respectfully, 

Reuven Prager 

cc: Office of the President of the State of Israel 

 
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (Received 3/7/96)
8th Tammuz, 5756 (25th June, 1996) 
Mr. Reuven Prager 
"Beged Ivri" 
111 Agrippas Street 
Jerusalem 

Shalom and Blessings, 

In relation to your letter I respond, firstly, with regard to the duty of the Chief Rabbinate this is not the place to discuss it, however on one point we surely agree that every innovation in custom requires the agreement of the Sages of Israel and we don't do things from our own minds, even though after the fact there is no fear in this. 

I referred you to see that the subject of the Half-Shekel was already established by Rav Yosef Schwartz, OBM, and this subject appears on the calender of Rav Tuckachinski on Erev Purim. 

What I got from your letter is that the opinion of the Chief Rabbiante does not interest you and you only want to use his office as an instrument for actions that you are interested in doing. That stance is not respectful and is not acceptable to me and I suggest that you continue your efforts without involving our office in the matter. 

With much respect, 

Rabbi Raphael Frank 

 
LETTER TO RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
21st Tammuz, 5756 (8th July, 1996) 
Harav Raphael Frank 
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Chief Rabbinate of Israel 

Dear Rabbi Frank, 

Thank you for your letter of 8 Tammuz. Yes we are in complete agreement that any innovation in custom requires the agreement of the Sages of Israel, and we do not do things from our own minds. I am sure you will also agree with me that not one of those innovations, including the office you occupy, were initiated by those same Sages. They were created as facts by initiators, and the Rabbanim agreed after the fact. With all due respect Rav Frank, I have invested 61,516 hours, approximately, in preparation for this project, and that is only my own work. I think I am being generous if I say you have spent one hour preparing your responses to my letters. I did not write to Harav Lau suggesting that we wear green balloons on Wednesdays. Yes, I am using my mind, and the abilities that G-d gave me, to bring about the restoration of the Holy Half-Shekel. And yes I am a Chutzpah, I am a Levite, and I get things done. So now that we have that out of the way, please pay attention to what I am saying now. 

In the last letter I received from the Bank of Israel, it was clarified that if the Half-Shekel is declared "not legal tender" then it is not subject to subsection 33A of the Bank of Israel Law, 1954. This means, theoretically, that the Half-Shekel could be minted, distributed, and collected, without the necesity of either the Bank of Israel or the Government Coin and Medal Corp. being involved. That means, that if you work with me now, we can defer total control of the entire endeavor into the hands of the Chief Rabbinate, with all the jobs and responsibilities that would be created in perpetuity. This will be confirmed if we get the anticipated response regarding section 28 of the Bank of Israel Law. Included in these responsibilities will be maintaining direct contact with tens of thousands of Jewish institutions worldwide, with direct participation by millions of Jews in a project totally under the control of the Chief Rabbinate. I will not allow you to hide your head in the sand and tell me not to involve you. I am going to involve you until you have Half-Shekels up to your eyeballs. If need be I will hand you a completed project, but your help in expediting it will save several years of wasted time and energy. The Half-Shekel will be restored, under your auspices or not. 

It would be a terrible loss of prestige to your office if I have to work despite you rather than with you. I would also make mention that my work is being followed, letter by letter, both in academia and for the public in a documentary in preparation. Our correspondence is already a matter of public record. Have an eye for how your responses read in the eyes of a public that looks to the Chief Rabbinate to look after the spiritual wellbeing of our people. Rav Frank, the resistence to Redemption is passive. Look what you are fighting against; The restoration of the Half-Shekel! Why, if it could be done, would you assume such a position? Who are we serving? 

Harav Frank, you and I will stand side by side with tears of joy in our eyes as we drop our Half-Shekels into Shofar-shaped collection boxes, and we will repeat together the prophetic words of Harav Hagaon R. Akiva Yehosef Schlezinger, OBM, "May it be desired before You, Lord our G-d and the G-d of our forebearers, that by virtue of the value of this Half-Shekel that I am setting aside for the redemption, the reconstruction and the appeasement of Your Land as we are enjoined- let it be considered as though I weighed out (the value of the Half-Shekel) in Your Holy Temple, for the building of the Tabernacle, the site and the dignity of the Presence of G-d. Furthermore, as it is required for us to dwell in the Land may we enjoy Your blessings, and as, by virtue of these Shekelim, You saved Your people from the decree of Haman, so may you redeem and save us from all the foes of Israel, from all those who would harm us spiritually or physically. Moreover, save us from pillagers and from those who incite against us, and save us from all distress and bring us mercifully to Zion, so that we have the merit to bring more Shekelim in the Temple of our G-d, to the walls of your altar- as You desire. Amen, may it be so, and may DIVINE GOODNESS INSPIRE US etc., and may that which we express orally and in our thoughts be desired before You." (c.1876) 

And can you imagine the atmosphere of rejoicing? You will turn to me and say Kol Hakavod - Yeshar Kochacha. Mamash! 

G-d Bless,

Reuven Prager


RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (received 21/10/96)
2nd Cheshvan, 5757 (15th October, 1996)

Mr. Reuven Prager
"Beged Ivri"
111 Agrippas Street
Jerusalem

Shalom and blessings,

I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter on the subject of the Half-Shekel coin project in the office of His Honor the Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Israel Meir Lau. 

We will pass your proposal on to the Chief Assembly of Rabbis for Israel, and if it is found warranting, we will raise it on the daily agenda. 

With much respect, 
 

Rabbi Raphael Frank 

[That's better!] (editor's note)
 

RESPONSE FROM CHIEF RABBINATE
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau 

6th Shevat, 5757 (14th February, 1997) 

Mr. Reuven Prager Beged Ivri 
111 Agrippas Street 
Jerusalem 

Shalom and Blessings, 

Your letter of 29 Cheshvan was received in the office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. 

As you requested, please find enclosed the register of the members of the Chief Rabbinical Assembly. 

With much respect, 
HaRav Raphael Frank 


LETTER TO CHIEF RABBINATE
15th Adar II, 5757 (24th March, 1997)

Rabbi Raphael Frank 
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Chief Rabbinate of Israel 
Jerusalem 

Dear Rabbi Frank, 

Shalom. My apologies for not responding sooner, I just returned from a two month coast-to-coast tour of the U.S. promoting the Half-Shekel project. 

It is with much excitement that I can inform you that the Half-Shekel is now a physical reality. Production began on 14 Adar II, Purim. 

I wish to thank you for supplying me with the list of members of the Chief Rabbinical Assembly. 

Has a date been set for discussion of the restoration of the Half-Shekel? If not, how do establish a date? Keeping in mind that there remain only 12 months until Purim of 5758, at which time we will be delivering into the hands of the Chief Rabbinate all the Hekdesh we can, we really need to speed things up a bit. We would want to avoid at all costs a situation in which the Chief Rabbinate is unprepared for the responsibility. 

I am submitting a formal question to the Chief Rabbi that requires a ruling by Adar of next year. Would you please facilitate the matter. 

Thank you in advance. 
 

G-d Bless, 
Reuven Prager 
Beged Ivri 

cc: 

    Mr. Bobby Brown, Office of the Prime Minister 
    Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's 

LETTER TO THE CHIEF RABBI
15th Adar II, 5757 (24th March, 1997) 

Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau 

Dear Chief Rabbi Lau, 

Shalom. Due to new circumstances created by the restoration of the custom of giving a Holy Half-Shekel commencing with the Purim of 5758, I humbly submit the following questions for your ruling; 

1) What Bracha does one make when giving the Half-Shekel? 

2) At what point in the Shushan Purim evening service does one give the Half-Shekel, before the reading of the Megillah, or after it? 

On behalf of Klal Yisrael, 

G-d Bless, 
 

Reuven Prager 
Beged Ivri 

cc: 

    Mr. Bobby Brown, Prime Minister's Office 
    Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's 

LETTER TO THE CHIEF RABBI
13th Day of the Omer 
28th Nisan, 5757 (5th May, 1997) 

The Chief Rabbi of Israel, 
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau 
Office of the Chief Rabbinate 
King George Street 
Jerusalem 
 

Dear Chief Rabbi Lau, 

Shalom and Blessings! If I were to show you a history book written 50 years from now on the Restoration of the Custom of Giving the Holy Half-Shekel on Purim of 5758, heralding in the 50th year Celebrations of the State of Israel, it would include the following story; 

"In February of 1997 he succeeded in obtaining the funds to make the master dies and immediately faxed Jerusalem a copy of the check and with the accompanying request that the minter meet him in his office on March 23rd, Purim, so that for historical reasons, production would begin on that date. Little did he know. 

He returned to Jerusalem on The Fast of Esther, January 20th, and on the morning of the 23rd presented himself in the offices of S. Kretchmer and Sons and handed over the check, saying 'Do you know what we have just done? We just founded the Beit Hamikdash!' Returning home he saw on CNN that the Haters of Israel were meeting, that very day, in Islamabad. With hands waving and arrogant mouths they sought a decree against Jerusalem. And later that evening, Shushan Purim in Jerusalem, he listened as Haman offered his Shekels to buy Israel's annihilation. Rembering that the Shekels we gave in the wildreness, besides atoning for the sin of the golden calf, also prophetically redeemed us from Haman's Shekels in the future, he realized with the power of a revelation, that it had happened again! Once again the Half-Shekel of Israel had overturned the decree against Jerusalem. The work of a single Levite, begining production of the Half-Shekel in Jerusalem, had overturned the decree that the Haters of Israel sought in Islamabad. Two weeks later he was informed of two other occurances that happened on Purim that year; a lunar eclipse and the appearance of a 'Coin of Fire' in the Heavens." 

Rabbi Lau, the ceremonial coins going out to the Diaspora leave the country as product. They return as Hekdesh. There is currently VAT on anything coming into the country. There can be no VAT on Hekdesh coming into the country. In fact, Customs may not even touch the Hekdesh coimng in, let alone charge for storage. That would be a prohibited benefitting from Hekdesh. Brink's will have to off-load the Hekdesh directly at the plane and deliver it to your offices unmolested. 

I am therefore requesting that you issue a directive to the VAT Authority, as the legal body responsible for the propper behaviour of the State of Israel vis-a-vis Halachah, that there is no VAT on Hekdesh, and see to it that it is immediately recognized as such in Law. If this is not done by the 24th of Adar next year, it will be, G-d forbid, a real serious problem. 

On the humorous side, in my discussions with Brink's, I was sharing the concern that if a communities' shipment were to be stolen, G-d forbid, it would have to be replaced with an added fifth. The response was immediate. "No problem, you can insure it for 120%." Unbelievable! 

In the days of Yoash, the governement turned to Levi to restore the custom of giving the Holy Half-Shekel. Levi tarried. And only on the second try, did Levi respond, and it led to great rejoicing. 

This time around Levi turned to the government to restore the Half-Shekel and the government tarried. So Levi did it himself. 

When we left Egypt we left before our dough had time enough to rise. We left in a hurry. So will it be leaving Galuth. On the 25th of Adar 5758 I will be delivering into your custodianship Hekdesh. And the Ministers and the people will rejoice! 

Taken to heart on the deepest level, the Half-Shekel is the ultimate manifestation of the equality of every Jew. It is the end of disunity, the begining of Redemption. 

G-d Bless, 
 

Reuven Prager 
Beged Ivri 

cc: 

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 
    Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's
 

This is the list of distinguished Rabbis who sit on the Supreme Religious Council for the State of Israel, as supplied to us by the Office of the Chief Rabbinate:

  • Rabbi Yisrael Lau, Chief Rabbi of Israel
  • Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron, Chief Rabbi of Israel
  • Rabbi Yosef Sharvit, Rabbi of Ashkelon
  • Rabbi Yosef Glicksberg, Rabbi of Givattayim
  • Rabbi Ratzon Erosi, Rabbi of Kiryat Ono
  • Rabbi Yosef Abuhatzira, Rabbi of Yavne
  • Rabbi Yitzchak Ralbag
  • Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, Rabbi of Rehovot
  • Rabbi Moshe Malka, Rabbi of Petach Tikvah
  • Rabbi Yitzchak Grosman, Rabbi of Migdal Ha'emek
  • Rabbi David Shalush, Rabbi of Netanya
  • Rabbi Yitzchak Kulitz, Rabbi of Jerusalem
  • Rabbi Gad Navon, Chief Rabbi of Zahal
  • Rabbi Mishal Dahan, Rabbi of Beer Sheva
  • Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Rabbi of Haifa
  • Rabbi Chaim David HaLevi, Rabbi of Tel Aviv
  • Rabbi Moshe Ruachberger, Rabbi of Ramat Hadar
The following letter was sent to each and every one of these distinguished Rabbis on 5th Iyar, 5757 ( 12th May, 1997):
20th Day of the Omer 
Yom Ha'Atzmaut Year 49 
5th Iyar, 5757 

Dear Esteemed Member of the Supreme Rabbinical Council, 

Shalom Aleichem! May G-d find me faultless for addressing my elders, those much greater than myself, and at the same time, may G-d give me the words to reach you, immediately, to the deepest depths, so that you know with the surety of hindsight, what I am about to reveal to you. 

I speak in the name of my ancestors, the House of Levi, in the name of the Duty of my Father's House. 

With the reintroduction of Hekdesh, a new level of religious activity begins with major ramifications, that will greatly affect Halachic rulings and contemporary ritual observance. 

I am presenting to you a "Coin of Fire", the restoration of the custom of giving the Holy Half-Shekel, commencing with Purim of 5758, coinciding with the Jubilee Year of the State of Israel. 

Production of the first independently motifed ceremonial Half-Shekel in 1927 years began on Purim 5757, in Jerusalem. Distribution begins, G-d willing, on Shavuoth and will continue until Rosh Chodesh Adar 5758, when work will begin on the following year's coins. 

On the 25th of Adar 5758, Brink's will deliver to the Office of the Chief Rabbinate, all the Hekdesh collected from all the participating communities worldwide, in time for the separation of Trumat HaLishkah on Erev Rosh Chodesh Nisan. 

The reintroduction of Hekdesh next year requires immediate action by the Chief Rabbinical Council to instruct State agencies in the proper conduct regarding the Halachic aspects of dealing with Hekdesh. Please see the letter to Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau of 28th Nisan 5757, for a specific example of potential problems that need to be avoided. 

In a letter from the Office of the Chief Rabbi dated 2nd MarCheshvan 5757 we were informed that the Restoration of the Custom of Giving the Half-Shekel was to be brought before the Council. There are now only ten months until Purim of 5758. I humbly and strongly recommend that the Council meet to start to discuss what needs to be done as we come face to face with newly applicable situations brought about by the reintroduction of Hekdesh. 

Standing on the shoulders of the Sages, I present to you a fait accompli that allows you to deal with Hekdesh now, as existing after the fact, precluding any theoretical discussion of whether or not this should have been done in the first place. We all know, that regardless of how much Hekdesh is collected this year, it will grow and grow until we reach general participation. 

I would also like to take the opportunity to inform you that this letter, as with every correspondence between Beged Ivri and all the various Government agencies involved over the last four years, is archived on the Internet and is already in the public domain. 

I look forward to the earliest opportunity to meet with the Council to bring you up to date with everything concerning the Half-Shekel so that you can make informed and appropriate decisions. I am at your service at any time to answer any and all questions you may have regarding this incredible historical restoration. 

G-d Bless, 
 

Reuven Prager 
Beged Ivri 

cc: 

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 
    Mr. Michael Kahanov, Brink's
 
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK (Received 27th June, 1997)
16th Sivan, 5757 (22nd June, 1997) 

Mr. Reuven Prager 
"Beged Ivri" 
P.O.Box 28052 
Jerusalem 

Shalom and Blessings, 

I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter in the Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Israel Meir Lau. 

The agenda of the meetings of the Assembly are determined by the Chief Rabbis of Israel. 

With much respect, 
 

HaRav Raphael Frank

 
LETTER TO RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
24th Sivan, 5757 (29th June, 1997) 

Rabbi Raphael Frank 
Office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Chief Rabbinate of Israel 
Jerusalem 

Dear Rabbi Frank, 

Thank you for your deep and illuminating letter of 17 Sivan. I am amazed that it only took you three months to write it. 

In nine months time we will be delivering Hekdesh into the custodianship of the Chief Rabbinate. You had better be prepared. 

Your attitude, as evidenced by your responses to my letters, is totally unacceptable, and you will be held accountable for any failure on behalf of the Chief Rabbinate to be prepared for the awesome responsibility of safeguarding the Hekdesh. 

Our correspondence has been viewed by more than 100,000 readers on the Internet to date. If I were to share with you some of the letters we have received concerning your responses, you would be so ashamed you would hide yourself from public view. Your non-thinking responses do a disservice to the office you represent. Get real! 

G-d Help Us, 
 

Reuven Prager 
Beged Ivri

 
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau 

8th Tammuz, 5757
13th July, 1997

Reuven Prager 
Beged Ivri 
P.O.Box 28052 
Jerusalem 

Shalom and blessings, 

First off, I am surprised that someone who appears under the label "Beged Ivri" uses a foreign date. To the cruxt of the 
issue, as long as I have not received the agreement of the Chief Rabbis or the Supreme Rabbinical Council concerning your 
actions, please don't involve them in the issue. 

Again I refer you to the agreed upon custom of "Zecher" (Rememberance) of the Half-Shekel as it appears in the years' 
calendars. 

With much respect, 
 
 

HaRav Raphael Frank

[Editor's note: I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. Well, if you can't go over the wall, or around it, there's always tunnelling under it! We'll try a different approach.]
 
RESPONSE BY RABBI RAPHAEL FRANK
Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Beit Yahav, 80 Yirmiyahu Street 
P.O.Box 7525 
Jerusalem 
 

26th Tamuz, 5757 (31st July, 1997) 

Mr. Reuven Prager 
"Beged Ivri" 
P.O.Box 28052 
Jerusalem 

Shalom and blessings, 

It grieves me that you still don't understand my words. The Chief Rabbinate does not intend to cooperate with you. 

With much respect, 
 
 

HaRav Raphael Frank

 
LETTER TO RABBI ISRAEL MEIR LAU, CHIEF RABBI OF ISRAEL
7th Av, 5757 (10th August, 1997) 

Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau 
Office of The Chief Rabbi of Israel 
Beit Yahav, 80 Yirmiyahu Street 
P.O.Box 7525 
Jerusalem 

Dear Chief Rabbi Lau, 

Shalom. During the last sixteen months I have been attempting to involve your office in a project vital to the whole of Klal 
Yisrael, essential for the personal and national spiritual and physical wellbeing of the people. 

The project included two stages: 1) The minting and distribution of a ceremonial pure silver Holy Half-Shekel, and 2) The restoration of the custom of giving the Holy Half-Shekel

We turned to you as the seat of religious responsibility for the State of Israel to let us work through your office, so that the 
prestige of the project would accrue to the Office of the Chief Rabbinate and the State of Israel. 

We turned to you as the seat of religious responsibility for the State of Israel to let us work through your office, so that the
prestige of the project would accrue to the Office of the Chief Rabbinate and the State of Israel.

You abdicated responsibility for providing the ceremonial coins to Klal Yisrael, so we went ahead and minted them, and we will be responsible for the revenues and expansion of participation.

According to the last letter received from your office, you are formally abdicating custodianship over the Hekdesh that will be
collected this coming Adar. In other words, your office, as seat of the Chief Rabbinate of the State of Israel, is formally
abdicating responsibility for safeguarding Hekdesh, on behalf of the People and State of Israel.

This will require the establishment of a Beit Din Levi to take responsibility for the safeguarding and disbursement of the
Hekdesh donated annually. This we will establish.

What a shame, and what a loss of prestige to your office, that you showed apathy toward such a harbinger of the Complete
Redemption.

It is perhaps too symbolic that your office has abdicated the seat of the Chief Rabbinate at Heichal Shlomo.

With a pained heart,
 

Reuven ben Yosef HaLevi
Beged Ivri
 

 

LETTER FROM CHIEF RABBI BAKSHI DORON ON RECEIPT OF A PROOF EDITION OF THE HOLY HALF-SHEKEL
Chief Rabbinate of Israel

Office of the Rishon L'Tzion
Chief Rabbi of Israel
Jerusalem

3rd Kislev, 5758

Mr Reuven Prager, may G-d bless and keep you
Beged Ivri

Greetings,

The ceremonial half-shekel was the received with gratitude at the office of the Rishon L'Tzion, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Eliyahu Bakshi Doron.

The Rishon L'Tzion congratulates you on inspired initiative, reminiscent of the ancient days of the kingdom of Israel, and our Eternal House, built in its place and in its splendour.

With much respect,


HaRav Yitzchak Ohana
Assistant to the Rishon L'Tzion



LETTER FROM CHIEF RABBI YISRAEL MEIR LAU ON RECEIPT OF A PROOF EDITION OF THE HOLY HALF-SHEKEL

Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Office ot the Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau

5th Kislev 5758
4th December, 1997

Mr. Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri
P.O.Box 28052
Jerusalem

Shalom and Blessings,

I hereby acknowledge with blessings receipt of the Half-Shekel coin you have brought into existance, in the office of the Chief Rabbi of Israel HaRav Israel Meir Lau.

The Chief Rabbi requested me to thank you for the interesting material that you passed on for his consideration and he wishes you success.

With much respect,


HaRav Raphael Frank



The following letter was sent personally to each of the Chief Rabbis, Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron and Rabbi Meir Lau.

Erev Rosh Chodesh Nisan, 5758 (27th March, 1998)

The Chief Rabbi of Israel
Office of the Chief Rabbinate
Beit Yahav, 80 Yirmiyahu Street
P.O.Box 7525
Jerusalem

Dear Chief Rabbi,

Shalom and Blessings. It is with great excitement that we enter the first month of Nisan in 1928 years with Hekdesh available for use this year.

On Erev Rosh Chodesh you were presented with a key to the box of the proceeds from the Trumat HaLishka ceremony performed earlier in the day. The Hekdesh rests in the safe in your Offices.

When we lost the Temple and sovereignty over Eretz Yisrael 1928 years ago, we lost the ability to safeguard Hekdesh. Today we have that ability, albeit perhaps not the will, to safeguard Hekdesh.

With the drop of the first Half-Shekel coin into the golden chest for New Shekels this last Purim, the Exile ended. There is now Hekdesh in Jerusalem. Trumat HaLishka was performed, and the proceeds are now available.

In presenting an "after the fact" situation, we have now activated all the laws of Hekdesh and Meilah that have been studied only in theory these last 19 centuries.

Already this year, thousands of Jews the world over have hit the books with an intensity rarely experienced before, all trying to find ways to show us what we have done wrong. Once, however, ignorance is replaced with study, people have come forward beaming with joy, sharing their "findings" that we acted according to Halachah.

It is encumbant upon us now, to study the laws of Hekdesh and Meilah for practicle application, with the sense of immediacy that this requires.

I once again call upon you, as Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, to sound the call for the serious study of the laws of Hekdesh and Meilah, and to work to correct the ignorant perception that Hekdesh is a "problem". Hekdesh is not a problem. Hekdesh is a Gevalt! Meilah is a problem. The only way we can come to Meilah, G-d forid, today, is by way of laziness. Laziness is not an excuse.

May G-d Bless you, as the first Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel to have the honor to be Custodian for Trumat HaLishka. What a sweet responsibility.

G-d Bless,


Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri



The following letter was sent personally to each of the Chief Rabbis, Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron and Rabbi Meir Lau.

Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5758 (26th May, 1998)

The Chief Rabbi of Israel
The Chief Rabbinate
Beit Yahav
80 Yirmiyahu Street
Jerusalem

Dear Chief Rabbi,

Shalom and blessings. It is with continued awe that we delivered the proceeds of this year's second Trumat HaLishka ceremony which took place earlier today, to your office. The Hekdesh is in the safe in your office. Enclosed is the key to the lockbox.

As you know, the Torah uses the term "Kopher" three times, all relating to instances of homicide that are not murder. The first relates to the owner of the ox that gored. That person can ransom his soul. The second instance is for an Israelite soldier. It was, and is, encumbant upon every Israelite soldier to give a Half-Shekel yearly, lest G-d forbid, that soldier was forced to shed blood during the coming year of service. Unlike the nations that surround us, who would pillage and then celebrate their victories in battle, our ancestors sought atonement for having had to shed blood. That atonement was achieved through the Holy Half-Shekel they gave.

We will be working in the coming year to see to it that Zahal distributes Half-Shekels to every soldier serving, every year, so as to enable those soldiers who want to perform the Mitzvah with the opportunity to do so.

As long as Am Yisrael fields an army, the Commandment to give the Holy Half-Shekel is valid, regardless of whether or not the Temple stands. And it is a Torah Commandment only for those who serve in the army, although it is accepted from every Jew. In fact, there might even rise a generation of Yeshiva students, who in order to fulfil a Torah precept, will join the army so that their Half-Shekels should be D'oraita. Wouldn't that silence the critics to see civically responsible B'nai Torah, and at the same time, investing a sense of Holiness to armed service.

Following the final Trumat HaLishka ceremony this year, on the 29th of Elul, we stand ready should the need arise, to fund the service of the Holy Temple. Should we arrive at Rosh Chodesh Nissan, 5759, without the Temple existing, G-d forbid, then the Halachah requires that the silver collected the previous year goes to make Ministering Vessels. We strongly advise that the silver go towards making silver trumpets, or any other non-sacrificial vessel. It is our experience that the aversion to the concept of animal sacrifice is a major obstacle preventing Am Yisrael from approaching the concept of rebuilding the Temple with any interest. It would be good for all to make clear the Chief Rabbinate's opinion on the subject before scoffers use the issue to ridicule the Torah, G-d forbid.

Our tradition teaches that the reason the Trumat HaLishka ceremony was performed three times a year, was to publicize the Mitzvah. I encourage the office of the Chief Rabbinate to do just that. Teach Am Yisrael the deepest depths of the Commandents relating to army service, turn the tables around on the scoffers, and be a leader in uniting Klal Yisrael through the Holy Half-Shekel.

G-d Bless,


Reuven Prager
Beged Ivri




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