בס׳ד

"Where does it say that you have a contract with G-d to have an easy life?"

the Lubavitcher Rebbe



"Failure is not the enemy of success; it is its prerequisite."

Rabbi Nosson Scherman



6 Apr 2009

Order of priorities

Reading the news today, I was struck by two items concerning the allocation of Israeli government spending.
Israeli newspapers have reported that "Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government allotted NIS 43 million ($10.3 million) to the security of Pope Benedict XVI and the upgrading of infrastructure in the areas he is slated to visit. However the Finance Ministry has not yet agreed to implement this ruling."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3697737,00.html
The yeshivaworld website reported "Minister of Welfare & Social Services Yitzchak Herzog is concerned with the alarming fact that 1.5 million Israelis are in the social services database, receiving assistance of some kind.
Herzog stated 250,000 Israelis need assistance to meet the basic Pesach needs, explaining no one can get by on a minimum wage salary.
Speaking with the prime minister on Shabbos, Herzog called for tripling the pre-Pesach assistance to non-profit organizations assisting the poor from NIS 3 million to NIS 9 million to permit getting the basic to the so many who will not receive assistance ahead of yomtov.......
Due to firings and debts, Herzog explains the unemployment services in the southern area are collapsing, unable to meet the overwhelming increase in requests for assistance. He adds the alarming trend also is reflected in increase demand for assistance as well as domestic stress and even a noticeable increase in divorce."
The laws of tzedakah dictate the order of priorities as to whom to give charity.
1.Family and close relatives
2.Local Jewish community
etc.
I would respectfully ask the Pope to cancel his visit to Israel, asking instead that the money allocated for his security should instead be used to feed the nation's poor, to alleviate economic distress, so that there will be fewer incidences of marital discord, divorce and starving children.

1 comment:

  1. While I agree that it is outrageous to allocate such a vast sum for one person's security, I think that if the Pope were to cancel his visit, it would be naive to think that the money allocated for his visit would then be used to feed the poor.

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