With the Corona situation, we are trying now to shift focus to programs here in Israel: in schools, and especially in individual programs.  With HaShem’s help, perhaps we can grasp this opportunity to develop and enhance the local aspects of our Kesher Tefillin project. Included in that are:

• Our Tefillin factory: “manufacturing” our Kesher Tefillin tefillin for sale on the open market — as the Chief Rabbinate is encouraging us very strongly to do.

• The “one-on-two” Kesher Tefillin workshops.

• The school programs here in Israel that we are striving to develop (obviously, we need to wait until schools re-open for anything to happen here!)

• …and who knows what other opportunities HaKadosh Baruch Hu will throw our way!!

Regarding the progress of our project in general: we are truly at a watershed moment right now.  Look at the beginning of our Israeli Facebook “awareness campaign”.  We’re calling it awareness because right now we don’t really have anything to “sell” — for obvious reasons.  See this link (https://www.facebook.com/KesherTefillin/posts/2947632188647926 ) to the post I made recently to our English Facebook page.  The post is designed to introduce the Hebrew page and explain what it’s for and about.  If this gets “out there” then people will have access to both the English and the Hebrew pages — and links to both our English and Hebrew websites. Very soon, G-d willing, we’ll be making an official “release” and start scheduling our “one-on-two” individual workshops.

Why not now??  We need to have the wherewithal to respond assuming our publicity campaign is successful.  That means manpower.  We are currently training a cohort of new facilitators — and as an additional source of manpower — and are forging a relationship with a very reliable world-wide organization which is very interested in being part of the project.  The organization is called “Ner LeElef” (www.nerleelef.com/)  and they have thousands of highly trained representatives literally around the world (and in Israel).  The founder and director (Rabbi Yirmiyahu Abramov) is extremely excited: in his words “I don’t think you realize the potential of your project”.  In addition to providing the manpower that we’re training (several of them have already participated in programs with me); he’s working to bring the project to the attention of several key people here in Israel: we’ve already met with the heads of the Shuvu school network and some of Wolfson’s representatives here.  We’re working on forging a relationship with Rabbi Grossman from Migdal Ohr (https://www.rge.org.il/en/home-page/#Rabbi).  Rabbi Grossman is a close associate of Rabbi Abramov and another of our mutual supporters has offered to sponsor some programs in his school network.  I’m looking at that as a perfect opportunity to train our new teachers.

At the same time, we’re moving forward towards our tefillin manufacturing endeavor — with the strong encouragement of the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (who is providing the hechsher — see https://www.kesher-tefillin.com/we-are-kosher/ ).  I’ve had multiple meetings about this — with suppliers, technical people, sales people, not to mention the rabbanim.

So … with HaShem’s help, we are really moving forward.  Now that we are stuck here in Israel, we suddenly have a wonderful window of time to work on these projects at home.  G-d willing, we’ll be able to take advantage.