Rabbi Avrohom Leventhal, a
former Baltimorean and rebbe at Talmudical Academy, is now head of a major
Israeli chesed organization, Lemaan
Achai. He was in Baltimore recently, and we took the opportunity to speak with
him.
Born in
Annapolis, Rabbi Leventhal spent a number of his early years in Salisbury on
the Eastern Shore, where his shomer
Shabbos family used to host college students for Shabbos. Right after his bar
mitzvah, he came to Talmudical Academy in Baltimore and, for the last two years
of high school, learned in the Scranton yeshiva. Upon high school graduation, Rabbi
Leventhal returned to Baltimore and spent the next six years at Ner Israel: three
years in yeshiva and three years in kollel. His wife, Eshkie (neé Swerdloff),
of New York, ran a popular daycare group for young children.
For the
next 15 years, Rabbi Leventhal taught at Talmudical Academy at all levels, but
mainly the elementary grades. At the same time, he was very active as a volunteer
for Ahavas Yisrael, Baltimore’s chesed organization.
Life was
good, but in 2005, Rabbi Leventhal, Eshkie and their six children decided to
make aliyah. Asked about the
practicality of giving up a secure parnassah
and leaving a community where they were quite comfortable, he related a thought
from Rav Avraham Yitzchok Hakohen Kook, zt”l:
Before am Yisrael could enter Eretz
Yisrael, they had to fight a war and conquer Sichon, the king of Cheshbon. Rav
Kook said that it is when it doesn’t make sense to make aliyah that you have to slay the cheshbon and go anyway. (The word cheshbon, in Hebrew, can mean calculation, weighing the pros and
cons.)
Rabbi
Leventhal’s story of aliyah rings
true for many who have made that choice. He went to Israel with a promised
job. The Israeli government wanted to open a free high school/yeshiva program for
American boys and girls as well as other teens in Israel. It was called Naaleh,
which stands for Naarim Olim Lifnei Horim,
youth making aliyah before their
parents – Elite Academy in English. However, during his first month on the job,
the Ministry of Education made a drastic cut in its budget, and the program was
abandoned. In other words, his job no longer existed.
Says Rabbi
Leventhal, “I switched gears and trained as a technical writer. This is the
person who writes the manuals and user guides for software and appliances. I
got a job offer in April from Hewlett Packard, which was to start in three
months, on July 1, 2006. While waiting to start my new job, I volunteered for a
local chesed organization in Beit
Shemesh, called Lema’an Achai. My experience with Ahavas Yisrael in
Baltimore gave me the inspiration.”
A couple
of months into Rabbi Leventhal’s volunteering, the board of Lema’an Achai asked
him if he would run the organization for six months while they looked for a
permanent director. He told them he had a job starting in less than three
months, to which they answered, “This is Israel, you’ll get another job in high
tech.”
“I went
home and brought up the topic at the dinner table. I reported the offer to my
family. Our then-13-year-old son said, ‘What do you want to accomplish, writing
programs for electronics or helping people change their lives?’ I said, ‘But I
will make much more money in high tech. If I work for the organization, we’re
going to have a much different lifestyle.’ Binyamin replied, ‘You were a rebbe
in TA; we’re used to that already.’
“With that
motivation, I accepted the six-month interim offer. Eshkie opened a gan to make up the difference. There is
a saying, ‘There is nothing more permanent in Israel than something temporary.’
Almost 18 years later, I’m still on that interim six months.”
After the six
months, the organization asked Rabbi Leventhal to consider staying. “I
agreed, on one condition: I would run the organization with my vision of how to
best help people. I call it ‘smart chesed.’
The Rambam says that the highest level of tzedaka
is to help a person stand on his own. Classic chesed focuses more on the handout, not the hand up. Based on the
Rambam, we believe in the pasuk, ‘Vechazakta bo’ (Vayikra, Parshas Behar). Our motto is based on that: ‘A hand up,
rather than a handout.’”
According
to Rabbi Leventhal, Lema’an Achai has a comprehensive, holistic approach to
address whatever issues are causing a crisis. Its programs include social
workers, financial counselors, vocational counselors, legal aid, therapy, and
whatever is needed to address the family’s issues. “We do not give the client
money,” he says, “but we help pay their bills as necessary: material assistance
but no cash.”
Right now,
Lema’an Achai is building the International Chesed Center to house its more
than 40 programs and projects that foster financial and emotional independence.
Its annual budget is three-and-a-half million dollars. Although it started in
Beit Shemesh, the organization now services all of Israel. Rabbi Leventhal is
very grateful for the Baltimore community’s participation in this house of chesed.
I asked Rabbi
Leventhal about Lema’an Achai’s role in the current war. He answered, “One of
our strengths is the ability to mobilize volunteers. We strategize, plan, and
execute strategies. In the current war, we arranged the procurement of
equipment and supplies needed for the soldiers. In addition, we are involved in
temporary resettlement of displaced families. We arrange apartments
nationwide. We also provide essentials for these families.
“Lema’an Achai has a track record of success
in rehabilitating families in crisis,” continues Rabbi Leventhal. “We have many
unique people. Among the families we serve are heroes of October 7. One person
single-handedly saved 128 people from the Nova rave. We are planning to bring
him to Baltimore to tell his inspiring story. Details are being finalized. We
have also established a fund to help the widows and orphans of the massacre.”
As is true
of most families in Israel, the war is affecting the Leventhals, as they have
sons and sons-in-law who are reservists in the IDF.
Rabbi
Leventhal’s trip to Baltimore was meant to highlight the chesed and concern of the Baltimore community. “I have received
numerous calls and messages from people wanting to donate, volunteer, or give chizuk (encouragement). Many Baltimore
residents have come to help in our efforts,” concludes Rabbi Leventhal.
We all
wish Rabbi Leventhal much hatzlacha
in his holy work. He is our shaliach
to do what we all want to do.
To contact Rabbi Leventhal, please email him at avrohom@lemaanachai.org,
or go the website: www.lemaanachai.org.
