October 28, 2010
To the Editor,
I am sending you this as a former Winnipegger.
This year the Jewish world is marking the 75th Yaartzeit of Rabbi Avraham Itzchak HaCohen Kook, the most significant sage of our epoch.
HA’OROT:The Lights of Rav Kook is a musical project dedicated to creatively sharing Rav Kook’s illumination with the whole world. Our very well received performances "integrate Rav Kook’s extraordinary poetry with original music by Greg Wall’s Later Prophets, and the spoken word artistry of Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein". Rabbi Greg Wall (www.gregwall.com ) is becoming widely known as the ‘Jazz rabbi’ and the Later Prophets featuring Shai Bachar (www.shaibachar.com) are at the forefront of the New York’s NewJew scene, combining a literate Jewish aesthetic with cutting edge musical performances. My commitment to sharing Rav Kook creatively is well known to you. Links to our critically acclaimed Tzadik Records CD and clips from our concerts in Israel in August 2009 can be found below.
This coming February HA’OROT has been invited to mount a 75th Year Rav Kook Memorial Tour throughout Israel in which ALL proceeds will be donated to the Israel Cancer Association. This tour will serve as the Israeli inauguration of a new on line tzedaka project Pioneers For A Cure (www.pioneersforacure.org). This innovative project is recording contemporary Jewish artists in North America and Israel singing the songs of the chalutzim/pioneers. These original songs are offered as downloads through the website and the money raised is donated to a cancer fighting organization of the artists choice.
The HA’OROT tour and its attendant publicity will serve as the vehicle to inform Israelis about the opening of this innovative and important on-line tzedaka project.
Our tour between Jan. 30 and Feb. 8, 2011 is completely booked with performances all over Israel including Jerusalem, Yaffo, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tsfat, Zichron Yaakov and the Kinneret. While Pioneers For A Cure is supporting the bulk of this tour with a generous donation, we still need to raise $6000 in order to cover the full cost of the tour and enable all ticket proceeds to be donated to the ICA.
We are seeking 12 co-sponsors to donate $500 tax deductible each. We currently have 3 such sponsors and are seeking 9 more. I am writing you to invite you or perhaps a group of your friends to become one of the co-sponsors. If desired, your or your organization’s sponsorship can be noted in our publicity material.
We have a very short time to raise this and thus we are seeking your help in manifesting this very unique tzedaka project. Joodayoh Inc, a non profit arts and education organization and the parent organization for Pioneers For a Cure has created a Rav Kook Fund to receive tax deductible donations. 97% of any monies donated will go directly to our project. The Joodayoh Rav Kook Project Fund can be found here. Please scroll to the Rav Kook Fund on the Program Designation box. Donations are also tax deductible in Canada. Please contact me for details.
All contributions as well as enabling the raising of significant tzedaka for Israel’s leading organization in the fight against cancer will help bring the healing and inclusive teachings of Rav Kook to Israel. Rav Kook died painfully and prematurely of cancer. It is our privilege to honor his immense contribution to the world by sharing his light and commitment to the good in this most unique and appropriate way. Please consider joining us.
With blessings of light from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein
Former teacher at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate, Winnipeg