Mekudeshet Event - Rabbi Shaul Haber

[Music] you could see Harry by every event and you'll never get tired of seeing him a story rakov galinski a well-known Rabbi was once he was known for his wit and his wisdom and he was once going to fund raise in Mexico he had a big deficit in his yiva and he was going to fundraise he showed up at a home a very large home he was given the address he knocked on the door they opened the door and they tell him Rabbi he tells them what he's there for they tell him Rabbi perfect we are having a we want you to come to the backyard and give us a speech he wasn't prepared so he's walking in the backyard and he's thinking what he's going to speak about and suddenly he falls into the pool and now he's drenched he's embarrassed he's drenched he gets out of the pool and he stands up to speak with his Long Black Coat all wet and he gets up and he says it's the first time I went to the mve before I got up to give a speech and everyone you know laughed and they appreciated his words his speech and he fundrais raised his entire deficit at that one moment at that one event and he commented after he said usually I get small embarrassments and small amounts of money I go to an office you know they ask me questions I don't want to answer I get a little embarrassed they degrade me a little bit and I get small amounts of money he said now this time I got a large embarrassment but I got all the money I needed in this one moment and that's really if you think about it that's the way fundraising is for many organizations you get embarrassed you go to offices you feel uncomfort you have to sell your C people are not really buying it but I think for us at MES the fundraising was in fact a relief we didn't really feel what we were expecting to feel and what we were nervous we would hear from people instead of this is really this is is this really we expected to hear from people is this really an important cause we heard unbelievable it's so needed and from every part of the community every segment of the community we went to nobody said why do we need this is it really something that our community Needs Nobody reacted that way instead of hearing from people matchmaking is not for us it's too out there too heavy we heard wow that's a perfect solution to a problem that we all know exist we were expecting to hear why can't everyone just meet at potties why do we need matchmakers instead we heard from people people put down my niece take my daughter's information and set her up in fact I kept calling it an issue because I don't like the word crisis I feel like it's too depressing and when we went to people and I'm calling it an issue they're telling me Rabbi it's a crisis and the funds as well matched the words that the people said but of course we always need more when we approached the same thing when we approached Isaac and Jennifer sit to use their home we expected to hear our son's wedding is a week before your event it would be a very nice thing if you came back next year we'll be happy to open our home instead they were gracious from the beginning they said as long as it's not on the wedding day we're good and they and they supported us and as you see they're gracious and I think that the first home that an organization does their event in is very important because it sets the tone for the organization for future years one of the first people we went to in fact one of the first people I ever fundraised from in my life we went to him and we asked him for $10,000 we said we thought that that was a nice amount to get from him he said instead of $10,000 I want to sponsor 10 matches and then he said not 10 regular matches I want to sponsor 10 special matches knowing full so well that the word special would cost him and I think the reason we got this kind of response from people is twofold number one because every single person in this room and everyone we went to and everyone in the community knows a single that's waiting to get married and everybody knows that in today's day and age it's not enough to just walk up to a girl by a wedding or wherever it is and just meet her and date her you need more information you need to know background the world is too complicated for the old way if it works for you here and there great but in the general sense I think more information is better and secondly it reiterated to me something that my father impressed on me and that is that this community is not just a good Community it's a great Community because in a good Community you would see a boy or a girl at a wedding and say to yourself I wish I had someone for them and then you would go on your way and you'd forget about them but in a great Community you'd put their name onto our database and you would follow up and Hound us do you have someone for that person do you have someone for that person and that's our community in a regular Community a person would see a boy who needs a little push a little encouragement maybe they would go over to them and push them maybe even bother them but in our community in an unbelievable Community like ours they would fund coaching for that boy through our mes through our organization in a regular caring Community where they care a little bit someone would approach a Community member and ask them to start an organization to create a network to solve this issue and that person would take it on but in our community someone approached Mrs Kim Dava and asked her to start and I'm not crying my voice uh goes and ASA to start an organization and not only did she start this organization with a beautiful database with privacy for every person we don't even let matchmakers on unless we vet them and even they sign a a release where they're not going to say anything she started this organization with a beautiful database of singles who entered their own name but also funded it herself for an entire year to the tune of several $100,000 and then when we approached Solomon DBA to get involved with the fundraising which is always the most fun he said I'll do it and we kept pushing him and he kept doing it and every day I would see a text so and say so and so 5,000 7200 1,800 from Solomon DBA in a regular Community if you invite people on a Tuesday night to come to a fundraiser to take care of an issue like this they would say I may I may not have anywhere nice nicer to be than this backyard but I have places that are easier to be and will cost me less but look at all of you who came out on a night like this to support mes many of you already have your children married why did you come out because you're all amazing because our community feels that with hashem's help no one should remain sing Single just because we didn't put in enough effort and no one should sit at home wondering when the phone will ring because no one cared enough and no parent should feel alone thinking is my son or my daughter as good as I thought they were and that's how parents feel when they don't get that phone call that they were expecting I want to end with a piece of a as wrote special for for our organization fores and I think what other organization can say that they have their own TI he said in his 's will that he should find for all the singles of the Jewish people their proper match easily because with that a person becomes complete and they can serve Hashem with happiness and they can build a home with Holiness and Purity that should be fulfilled in everyone that's here and everyone that was willing to give up a Tuesday night where we know the husbands don't come home every night of the week they're willing to give up a Tuesday night for us and to show the community singles that they Care thank you to