5,000 People
United in a Global Peace Project
The international Project
5,000
people are making peace with another person.
For the merit of Chaim Yaakov Leib Ben Yehudis
And the rest of the ill people in Klal Yisroel.
“Your husband might never walk and he might never be able to move his hands.” – repeated the neurosurgeon. Yes! Despite the operation being a success.
In a moment, everything changed. It all changed seven weeks ago, on May 25, 2022.
‘Yaakov vs. the Tree’ as it is loosely described in his medical record. When falling off his bike he hit a tree, causing him to break three of his cervical discs, and damaging his spinal cord.
This is what lead to the harsh diagnosis – paralysis from his neck down.
It was hard to watch him. Yaakov went from being an active person, a happy father (always ready to dance!) and a pillar of the community to being completely immobile. Suddenly, all he could do was lay in bed, unable to move a limb.
Yaakov takes comfort in the fact that his head stayed intact and accepts Hashem’s Will happily.
“I am exactly where Hashem wants me to be!” is what he exclaims when concerned friends ask how he is doing.
He is pushing himself to do the excruciating work with his therapists, while he visualizes himself walking his children down the aisle to the chuppah.
Yaakov is Baruch Hashem progressing. But we need lots of Rachmei Shomayim that the treatments he gets will be fully beneficial. Will his limbs return to their past level of function? Will he be able to sit? Stand? Walk?
Everything is still uncertain.
And during these critical days, he is asking one thing from you!
He is not asking for donations, and he is not asking you just to add his name to the list of Cholim during your davening –
Yaakov is asking you to storm the Heavens! He is asking you for ONE deed. Even though it might be hard. The deed of making peace.
For the sake of the Ribono Shel Olam. For Klal Yisroel. For all the sick people in Am Israel. And for… yourself!
Do
your
part!
346
people
have already
joined
How
to
join?
Think of 1 person you are not on good terms with, angry at, or not speaking to
Fill in the ‘Peace Treaty’ (anonymously) below
Commit to take responsibility for your part in the fight for Peace
Take the courage, Contact the person and make peace - deadline: 10 Av, August 7, 2022
Keep us posted! Optional: Report back to us, sharing your experience
Collecting zechuyos that will shake the heavens to merit a speedy recovery for Yaakov and all other ill people
In Hashem's Arms
“When Abba will lead you down the aisle soon BS”D, and will dance with you at your wedding, do not say then that Hashem is with us. For He is with us now too – He was with Abba near the tree and was with him in the operating room, and He is with us at every moment in this process” – Rachel Rapaport, the wife of R’ Yaakov, in an emotional monolog.
When it all happened near our home in New Jersey, I was away, far from the scene. The friend who was with him called and told me at first that his injuries seemed minor – maybe a hand fracture, but nothing more. “You do not need to come,” my husband said. “I will accompany him to the hospital,“ added his friend.
A few hours later, the phone started ringing off the hook. When the doctors from the hospital asked me to confirm the go-ahead for spinal surgery, I understood that the case is a bit more complicated that what we originally thought. I bought a ticket, packed, and in less than thirty minutes, I was on my way to the airport while constantly on the phone with my husband and the medical team around him. I hesitated; this is not a simple surgery they are talking about; there are high risks to consider. I asked them to wait.
By the grace of Hashem, my husband wore a quality helmet, which protected his head from impact. He was able to talk and be part of the decision-making. Together we brainstormed who to turn to for advice. We immediately contacted HaRav Reuven Feinstein Shlita, his Rosh Yeshiva, briefing him with the information that we had at that time and letting him know that we might need his advice in the next few hours.
Just as I was about to get on the plane, my husband asked me to ‘please update Dr. Allen Joseph!’ I did not need an explanation. Allen and my husband had been learning partners and have known each other for over twenty years, staying in contact over time. Dr. Joseph was the head of the neurology department in a prestigious hospital in New Jersey before retiring and moving to Israel and later to Florida. We had unwavering trust in his medical knowledge and respected his input through the years. Our goal was to have him aware of the situation and have him ‘on-call’ should we need a second opinion after the MRI results.
To our surprise, when we contacted him, he immediately asked, “What hospital are you in?” We told him the name of the hospital, and he said, “I will be there in 15 minutes!” It turns out that just at that time, he was on vacation in New Jersey and had rented a house near that hospital that Yaakov was in. He was not only able to advise from a distance but to be there in person!
All the time I was physically far, (my head and my heart were with my husband) yet I felt a hug from Hashem. We were relieved that He sent us the right messenger when we needed it most.
The clock was ticking. While Dr. Joseph was on his way, we were worried that the Rosh Yeshiva will go to sleep, so we sent him theoretical questions. The doctors in the hospital are pressuring to operate imminently. Should we? If yes, should we move him to a better hospital? We explained the nature of our relationship to Dr. Joseph and that he is on the way to the hospital. The Rosh Yeshiva advised us to follow Allen’s advice.
Usually ‘outsiders’ are not welcome to see patients and are not invited to share their input. Miraculously, when Dr. Joseph entered the room, with his leadership skills and the conviction that only those at the pinnacle of the medical field could have, he examined Yaakov and no one stopped him! He even got an access to the hospital computers and check the MRI imagining. And he sent me a message that sent chillsup my spine: “If you want to save anything for long term – operate NOW!”
(Later we found out that Allen walked into the operating room to check if it is cutting-edge enough and did a quick background check on the surgeon and his experience before he advised us to operate there….)
Armed with the brocha and advice from the Rosh Yeshiva and the medical advice from Dr. Joseph, we gave our consent to go ahead.
While I was still on the phone, I could hear the surgeon telling us: “Your husband may never walk or use his hands!” Not interested in creating tension, I told the Dr. that we have five children and I need my husband to walk them down to their chuppah… and to my husband I said: “You keep thinking ‘Ein Od Milvado’”.
They started the operation before I arrived. Mile after mile through the flight I was begging HKB”H to show us yeshuos.
It was the first visible miracle in a chain of miracles all along the way. Hashem was with us, holding our hands during every step of the journey.
That is when I turned to our children, “When Abba will walk you down the aisle soon BS”D, and will dance at your weddings, do not say then that Hashem is with us. He is with us now too – he was with Abba near the tree and was with him in the operating room, and he is with us at every moment in this process.”
There is no better place than knowing you are in Hashem’s hands. He is not just with us. He leads us. He takes us to wherever He knows is the right place for us at the right time.
This was also the case when we managed to obtain a room at the in a rehabilitation center in Florida, near a clinic that offers the treatment he needs. This was when, at the last minute, we decided to use the services of another clinic than was originally planned. They not only have experience and expertise going back to the 1970s, but the owner was also willing to fight for Yaakov’s recovery. Along the way we met many of Hashem’s messengers who He sent to us: The owner of the rehabilitation center, a Jew with a warm heart who made sure we lacked nothing and did everything to ensure that Yaakov was as comfortable as possible. The EMT and the medical transportation team who takes him twice a day on a stretcher to and from the clinic, doing it with so much care and love, guaranteeing that he is handled very gently and is transported slowly to avoid any discomfort or movement that will damage Yaakov’s spine.
It took me twenty-five years and this experience just to see how much Yaakov is loved.
The dozens of phone calls and messages we have received non-stop were heartwarming. The thousands of people who daven for his recovery worldwide and do good deeds in his name give us the strength to keep going.
Every day. Every minute.
Even people who have only known him for a short time have come to visit him – it is almost like an air-train has been created between New Jersey and Florida. Everyone wants to help, to do something for him. Everyone individually feels that they love him as a brother.
And as the visitors leave his room, they are elated, filled with the love of Hashem. Each person expresses it in his own way, but the message is the same – “We thought we would come to give him strength, but instead, he strengthened us!”
R’ Yaakov is loved by all. By the One Above and by those around him.
Yaakov, a descendant of Aaron HaCohen, is also known for his love and pursuit of peace, something he does with all his heart. Peace is so important to him that he is willing to give up money, comfort, and respect – if that promotes peace.
We were looking for something to do in the merit of his recovery. Something that goes above and beyond. Something that would “storm the heavens”, as someone put it. The choice, therefore, is obvious: to make peace in the world. We chose to increase the number of deeds done for Yaakov precisely in a way that is so important and dear to him.
We decided to turn to you, fellow Jew, for whom peace is near and dear to your hearts and to gather another 4,999 people just like you so that together we can make peace around us. There is no vessel that retains blessings – other than peace. And if we are looking for blessings – we must repair the vessel that holds them.
Join us so that Yaakov will make a full and speedy recovery and be able to dance with his children at their weddings. Make peace with one person you are not on good terms with, angry at, or disconnected from. You have everything to gain!
“Restore peace, goodness and blessing.”
Thank you in advance,
Rachel Rappaport
Rabbonim from the USA and abroad extend their bracha to "Peace Treaty" participants
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein shlita
Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva of Staten Island
Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar shlita
Rishon Le’Tzion and Sefardi Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim