By. Y.K. Life is about challenges. Challenges come in many shapes and forms. Challenges come to every individual every community every organization and every Mosad hachinuch.

Baruch Hashem Klal Yisroel is gebentched with many selfless individuals and askanim who rise to challenges and know an opportunity when they see one – to do what every person was sent to this world for. In Rav Chaim Volozeners words להיטב לזולת״” – to help and to do good for another fellow human being.

Most community crisis’s find a group of askanim sitting together brainstorming the best ways to help the situation in whatever ways possible. One major common denominator to practically every one of these meetings is that somehow financial assistance will if not solve the crisis completely it will always alleviate the situation greatly. The question always arises: to whom shall we turn? How can we raise the necessary funds? Who will understand the delicate and at times the great sensitivities and confidentialities involved? Who has the heart big enough to undertake or at least to contribute significantly enough to really make the difference?

In the last few years there seems to be yet another common denominator to these meetings and to so many crisis’s whether individual, community, organization, mosad hachinuch or the like.

This common denominator is the answer to this question.

Lakewood, and Lakewood Mosdos Hachinuch specifically, have recently been through challenges that once again saw this question being asked and predictably the same answer given.

The answer: A cell phone beginning not with 732, not 718 or 845, a cell phone beginning 213 – the area code to the cross country state California, home to our generations architect of tzedaka and chesed Mr. Shlomo Yehudah Rechnitz.

This past Sunday, an urgent meeting was held in the home of the Rosh Hayeshiva Harav Malkiel Kotler. In attendance were all the Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva and Roshei mosdos of the Lakewood girls high schools. The crisis: One of the fellow High schools was forced to close its doors, leavings many girls and their families scrambling and desperately looking for someone or something to shed a glimmer of hope to their plight. This time, time was not even necessary or wasted brainstorming who can be called. The answer was already felt by virtue of past experience and positive results.

This call was made this time not by phone but via email.

The request: a multiple year commitment of six figures would save this entire situation. The Roshei Yeshiva were not made to wait. Within ten minutes the predictable response came, again via email. The school will remain open! Although not one person in the room was shocked, the excitement was palpable! From across the country Reb Shlomo Yehudah received many Brochos which was not heard by his physical ears but should reach his every fiber.

A few of some lesser known stories of how Shlomo Yehudah is there for so many individuals in such a selfless way, were quickly shared and the question that remained was only: But he does not even live in Lakewood?! While this question does remain, the Lakewood community is so fortunate, as is many communities around the globe, that we have this 213 number and email address to reach out to. Whether it’s assuring busing for every child in our town, whether ensuring help in regard to the many other issues our mosdos are facing in regard to the BOE, whether it’s dedicating the largest makom Torah of Tinokos shel beis Rabban in our town, whether it’s partnering with countless mosdos Hatorah and chinuch in such an enormous way, whether it’s personally taking achraos and supporting countless Lakewood families, whether it’s time and effort for mosdos, and individuals, Shlomo Yehudah has become the true Parnes ha’ir like no other.

May he and his family be gebentched…. And may we all in Lakewood learn and follow this amazing example of achraos and selflessness in our own way.

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