Unity... in Silent voices

• Registration will be made on the basis of a declaration. Those eligible are: Kollel men who learn Torah as their sole occupation, and men who work for a living while maintaining a torah observant home. They and/or their wives are eligible. This includes widows and divorcees who are Torah-observant.

• Registration is performed by filling out a declaration form including relevant personal details and state of health, and specifying means of payment: either by standing bank order or by credit card. Applicants commit themselves to all the program’s terms and conditions by signing on the form.

• Each family is considered one registrant.

• Vaad Harabanim has the right to make acceptance to the program conditional on filling out a detailed medical questionnaire for both spouses, and submission of relevant medical documentation.

• After Vaad Harabanim receives the application form, the registrant will be sent a certificate of approval containing his membership number. The Vaad reserves the right to delay and/or reject any applicant, and its decision is final.

• The date that determines the start of membership depends on the following:

  • Receipt of the application form, completely filled out in clear handwriting and with the signatures of the applicant(s), by the Vaad’s offices.

  • Receipt of the bank’s final approval.

  • Completion of verification of all medical details - for those who declared a medical problem.

• Program membership is personal, non-transferable to a third party, and may not be passed on through inheritance.

• In the event that it will be found retroactively that someone who was accepted did not declare a medical problem and/or does not fulfill the criteria in I/1 and/or was accepted into the program not according to all the articles of the Terms and Conditions, his membership will be cancelled automatically, his rights will be cancelled retroactively, and all the sums that were charged to his account due to the program will be returned to him. A member whose membership was cancelled due to this article will not be entitled to any additional compensation and/or indemnity, other than the sum that was charged to his account, according to the exchange rate of the US dollar on the day of the cancellation of the membership.

• In the event that an applicant is interested in joining the program in order to take part in the mitzvah of tzedakah to support Jewish orphans, without being entitled to the monetary benefits that the programs affords, he should declare this on the application form, and the approval certificate of his membership will be in accordance.

• Acceptance to the program is conditional on the applicants’ consent that in any case of doubt or difference of opinion, the rabbis of Vaad Harabanim will serve as the agreed-upon and authorized arbitrator, and their decision will be final.

• In the event of a member’s demise, fee collection will be implemented through the standing bank orders or credit cards of the rest of the group’s members, in order to establish the fund for the orphans. The fund’s amount will be $100,000 per orphan. (If the number of members in the program is less than 16,500, the fund's amount will be $50,000 per orphan.) All dollar amounts are according to US dollars.

• The fee collected from each member will be a one-time sum of six dollars per orphan.

• The program is designed to be expanded such that each new member will actually lower the charge for each orphan. Also, the program does not presently bear bank fees for the various charges. Thus, in the event that the number of the group’s members increases, and the agreement with the bank remains in effect, the sum charged to the group’s members will be decreased proportionally.

• In any case, the fee collected will be no higher than twenty-four dollars for any one month. Should a higher sum be required due to a case of demise, Heaven forbid, the remaining amount will be deferred, to be charged in the next month/s.

• In order to avoid unnecessary bank fees, each member must inform Vaad Harabanim in advance of any changes in the details of his bank account, and/or any other reason that might cause the charge not to be honored by the bank which handles his account.

• A member for whom a charge was presented to his account and the bank did not honor it for whatever reason, may pay his debt either through the charge of the following month or by sending a check for the amount that was presented to the bank + the bank fees.

• A member who has not settled his obligations within 90 days of the date of the bank charge will lose his rights as a member of the program, and will need to go through the registration process anew.

• Someone whose membership was terminated for whatever reason (with the exception of article I) is not entitled to any refund for previous payments.

• In the case that one of the parents who are program members should pass away, Heaven forbid, a fund will be established according to the amount of $100,0000 (or $50,000, as explained in II) for every eligible orphan who is as yet unmarried (up to age 35) with no limit on the number of unmarried children in the family! This money and the interest it produces is designated for supporting the orphans and the widow(er), their education, marriage expenses, and maintaining the household, subject to the decision of Vaad Harabanim.

• The program is designated only for orphans who are Torah-observant!

• Since it involves tzedaka money designated for the needy only, it is agreed that if an orphan has the financial capability to pay for living and wedding expenses (such as through inheritance and/or life insurance etc.), no fund will be established for him. (Or a partial fund will be established for him, to complete the sum of $50,000 - $100,000, as explained in II).)

• Each fund will be supervised by one of the rabbis of Vaad Harabanim, one of the rabbis of the Vaad HaPoel of the Kol Yisrael Areivim program in the town of the deceased’s residence, and the family’s representative, for guarding the money and the outlays, as practiced till now.

• The funds are designated exclusively for the needs of the orphans. Registrants and members have no side benefits of any type. There will be no distribution of funds among program members in any circumstances.

• In the event that, Heaven forbid, an orphan for whom a fund was established should pass away before the monies of the fund were utilized, the monies that were collected will be put aside and will serve to establish a new fund for a different family which will be eligible for this, or they will returned to the donors, as decided by Vaad Harabanim.

• The program is a tzedaka fund that operates according to Halachah only, and is not an insurance plan. Therefore, the registration and acceptance to the program has a stipulation that in the event of a high number of unnatural deaths, Heaven forbid (such as war and/or earthquake etc.), and/or a situation arises which according to Vaad Harabanim’s determination does not permit charges to be made to the members (for instance an unusually high number of orphans and/or economic inflation and/or some other economic condition etc), the rabbis of Vaad Harabanim will decide whether to establish a fund and what its sum will be. All the obligations will be determined by Vaad Harabanim, and their decision will be final, without any option of placing a claim - in any place or legal framework - for indemnity and/or compensation and/or grievance of any kind.

We pray to our Father in Heaven that no Jew should come to depend on any other Jew, nor should they come to depend on any other people, and may we all merit long life, health and happiness and the speedy arrival of Mashiach Tzidkeinu, Amen!