...................................................advertisement.....................................................
The Ner Echad Movement
Ner Echad is a pioneering Jewish women’s global movement to
honor the memory and perpetuate the legacy of the much celebrated Rebbetzin
Batsheva Kanievsky.
Rebbetzin Kanievsky, beloved wife of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, was
renowned for the inspiration and comfort she gave to all who sought her out.
Each week hundreds of Jewish women from across Israel and around the world
lined the narrow staircase leading to her tiny apartment to receive her
heartfelt blessing sage advice, passionate encouragement and meaningful
financial aid. She radiated love, comfort and inspiration to each and every
woman, regardless of background, affiliation, or status. It mattered not if the
woman was considered to be Ultra-Orthodox, Modern, or had totally lost her way
from religion. To Rebbetzin Kanievsky they were all simply ‘women in need’.
 |
| Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, and her husband, R' Chaim |
Rebbetzin Kanievsky was like a mother to all. She raised and
distributed millions of dollars, discreetly and without fanfare, to help widows
and orphans in need. The Rebbetzin was also wholly consumed with a sacred
mission to unite Jewish women from all walks of life in group acts of
loving-kindness, mitzvos, and self-improvement, strengthening the bonds that
tied them to their faith and to each other. When she passed away suddenly in
2011, she left behind a void that had yet to be filled—until now. Through the
Ner Echad movement, Jewish women around the world are uniting to bring the
Rebbetzin’s holy light back into the world. Women helping women and doing
Mitzvos together: these are the hallmarks of Ner Echad.
The Ner Echad Credo
Ner Echad is grounded in the fundamental philosophy taught
by our Sages, “There is no (spiritual) comparison between an individual doing a
good deed alone and a group doing a good deed together!”
Ner Echad Inaugural Program
Ner Echad has developed an innovative international online platform enabling Jewish
women from around the globe to unite with other women in good deeds and
meaningful activities. Ner Echad’s inauguration program is the Shabbos
Candle-lighting group. Every Friday and Erev Yom Tov before sunset, thousands
of members welcome Shabbos and Yom Tov together as part of one massive group,
lighting candles while simultaneously praying for family, friends, and each
other, and contributing one dollar in unison to a common Tzedakah cause.
Members
receive a weekly notification of candle-lighting time in their local area, and a
different member’s name each week to have in mind when lighting Shabbos
candles, and praying for the reason specified. Ner Echad members span the gamut - from
women considered 'traditional' to whom candle-lighting is one of the only
Mitzvos they perform - to ultra-Orthodox Yeshivish and Chassidish - and
everything in between.
Members automatically donate one dollar each week for erev
Shabbos tzedakah. All the dollars are collected at the exact same moment - candle-lighting
time in Jerusalem - the spiritual center of the world—making it one tremendous united
act of charity. The dollars go 100% exclusively to the Batsheva Kanievsky Widow
and Children’s Fund. The spiritual strength of this “tri-part” mitzvah,
committed in unison by thousands of women, is an extraordinary source of
blessing to the women of Ner Echad, and to all Jewish women around the world.
The Ner Echad launch has been met with tremendous
enthusiasm. The New York arm of Ner Echad has been inundated with phone calls
and emails, as women from all over the world want to know how they can be
involved with this beautiful movement. Members really take pleasure in being a
part of something global; it’s inspiring, and it’s powerful.
At the inauguration of Ner Echad in the home of Rav Chaim
Kanievsky, he declared:
“Never before in the history of the Jewish people have thousands of women joined together week after week in the method developed by Ner Echad, to light Shabbos candles, pray for each other, and give charity in unison, as a distinct group. This massive spiritual force will certainly generate a wellspring of spiritual and material blessing, and create an enormous protective shield for the entire Jewish nation.”
Ner Echad spreads solely through a grassroots approach.
Women tell their friends and family, speakers talk about it in their lectures, synagogues
put it into their bulletins… everyone tries to foster Jewish Unity any way they
can. Be part of this exciting new movement.
Visit www.NerEchad.org or call 1844NERECHAD
(1-844-637-3242).
