(Courtesy of Efrat) A few days after taking office, it was important for the new chief rabbis of Israel to come out with an emotional call to the community rabbis in Israel and around the world, to implore them to dedicate the sermons and lessons of the upcoming Shabbat, Parshat Shemot, to raising awareness for the salvation of the children of Israel, and in particular the sacred activity of the Efrat organization.
For many years now, referrals to the abortion committee have been on the rise. According to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2021 there were 16,591 applications from women to abortion committees. Of these, 99.5% were approved by the committees. At the same time, it is an open secret that at least a similar number of abortions are performed in a manner that is not supervised by the authorities.
Ahead of Shabbat Parshat Shemot, in which the Torah extols the determination of the Hebrew midwives to save the children of Israel, the rishon leZion, chief rabbi of Israel and president of the Grand Beit Din, Rabbi David Yosef, shlit”a; and the chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Kalman Ber, shlit”a, came out with an emotional call to support the Efrat organization, which in turn supports women in continuing their challenging pregnancies.
The rabbis praised the activities of the Efrat organization over the years and noted: “For many years the very precious and blessed organization Efrat, which was founded by the wise and kind-hearted Dr. Eli Shussheim, zt”l, who is a symbol of dedication to saving lives and concern for all and for the individual, and now his successors in Israel and abroad, Rabbi Haggai Goldschmidt and attorney Nir Salomon, have taken it upon themselves to instill awareness of the issue of saving human lives, even before they go out into the world, and are not resting day and night to increase awareness on the subject, with the way and manner of saving lives everywhere.” The rabbis continued: “Unfortunately, this need is not only in the Holy Land, but as it sounds, this painful issue has spread, especially in the United States. Therefore, the organization’s management decided to expand its activities and dedicate itself to saving the children of Israel at every site.”
At the end of their letter, Chief Rabbis Rabbi Yosef and Rabbi Ber call out to the rabbis and of all communities and urge them that on Parshat Shemot, they should make an effort to raise awareness of the issue during their sermons and Shabbat lessons.
“While emphasizing the dedication of the Hebrew midwives who worked in every way to save the children of Israel and to follow in their footsteps, and to point out to the public that any information requested on this subject can be obtained from Efrat and if need be to reach out to Efrat to receive their assistance in advice and guidance, … Blessed are those who strive and work to save every soul in Israel,” they conclude the letter and congratulate those engaged in the holy work.
