Support yeshiva students and avreichim families, without making anyone a charity case
Tov Torah is a support fund for yeshiva students and the families of avreichim in Israel. Every gift goes where the need is greatest, from strengthening the beit midrash to a dignified meal for a student whose family cannot provide one, and it is given quietly, so no one who receives it is marked in front of his friends.
- In partnership with Ezra Mishamayim (עזרה משמים), a registered Israeli non-profit, amuta no. 580613461.
What your donation does here
A donation to Tov Torah keeps Torah learning going in Israel. It goes into one fund, and the fund directs it to wherever the need is greatest: the beit midrash, the people who learn in it, yeshiva students who are missing something basic, and avreichim, married men who learn Torah full time, and their families.
The help is given quietly. We do not publish names, we do not photograph the people who receive help, and we never present anyone as a case. That is the decision the fund stands on, and it is why every photo on this site shows the learning itself and not the people who were helped.
You choose an amount and an intention on the donation page, in US dollars or Israeli shekels, and pay on PayPal’s secure page. Readers of Hebrew will find the full site, including a maaser guide and calculator, at טוב תורה.
What keeps a student in the beit midrash
No slogans. These are the things the fund supports, and every gift goes to wherever the need is greatest at the time.
Help for a student with what he is missing
A student who lacks something basic finds it hard to concentrate in the shiur. Quiet help brings him back to his learning.
Strengthening the beit midrash
The room where students sit and learn, so it has what it needs and the learning does not stop.
A meal with dignity
Meals for students whose families cannot provide them, given in a way that never embarrasses them.
Support for those who learn
So that a yeshiva student and an avreich can keep sitting and learning, without money worries pulling them out.
An empty hall and a full hall, the very same room
The photo at the top of this page is the hall before the session, with the Gemaras already open on the shtenders and no one there yet. The photo here is the same hall during the shiur.
What fills this room is not only the will to learn. It is also the calm of a student and an avreich who know that what they are missing will not stop them. When those things are taken care of, the learning carries on by itself. That is supporting Torah in the plainest sense, the partnership of Yissachar and Zevulun: those who work provide for the needs, and those who learn keep learning.
At the start of the Elul term the yeshiva’s electrical system failed badly. Despite the darkness and the heat, the students did not leave their Gemaras.
Where your donation goes
Every donation goes into the fund, and the fund directs it to wherever it is needed most. On the donation form you choose an intention and, if you wish, a dedication in memory of someone, for someone’s recovery or in someone’s merit.
| Intention | What it means |
|---|---|
| Where it is needed most | The fund directs your gift to wherever the need is greatest at the time |
| Strengthening the beit midrash | The place where the students learn, and the people who learn in it |
| Supporting Torah learning | Support for those who learn, so they can keep sitting and learning |
| Help for yeshiva students | Quiet help for yeshiva students with what they are missing |
| Meals with dignity | Meals for students whose families cannot provide them, given without embarrassment |
| Partnership in an hour of learning | A share in the merit of the hours of learning in the beit midrash, in any amount |
There is no commercial promise here and no segula. This is not a commercial promise. Tzedakah is not a transaction, and no one can promise a donor when or how their salvation will come. What can be promised is that a gift here meets a real need.
Chesed that does not shame
A yeshiva student spends the whole day among his friends. He eats with them, sleeps near them and learns beside them.
What he fears is not only the lack itself, but that the lack will turn him into an object of pity and questions. So help has to be given with care: he receives what he needs without being set apart from his friends.
That leads to one thing we never do. We will not show the face of anyone who received help, and we will not give his name. You may never know whom you helped, and that is exactly the beauty of this kind of chesed.
The other side is kept too. You can give anonymously, as matan beseter, and your gift does not have to carry your name.
What donors ask before they give
What is Tov Torah?
Tov Torah is a support fund for yeshiva students and the families of avreichim (married men who learn Torah full time) in Israel. It works in partnership with Ezra Mishamayim, a registered Israeli non-profit (amuta), and it gives help quietly, without ever naming or showing the person who receives it.
Where does my donation go?
Every donation goes into the fund, and the fund directs it to wherever the need is greatest at the time: strengthening the beit midrash, supporting those who learn Torah, help for yeshiva students, and meals for students whose families cannot provide them. You can choose an intention and add a dedication.
Why are there no photos of the people who receive help?
Because that is the principle the fund stands on. A yeshiva student who was once marked as someone who received help carries it long after the need has passed. So there are no faces and no names here, and every photo on this site shows the learning itself. A donor may stay anonymous too.
Can I choose exactly who receives my donation?
You can choose an intention and dedicate your gift, but not a person. The fund never links a donation to an identifiable individual.
Can I donate in memory of someone?
Yes. On the donation page you can dedicate your gift in memory of someone (le’iluy nishmat), for the recovery of someone who is ill, or in someone’s merit. The dedication is recorded with the donation and joins the merit of the students’ regular learning, in the way of Yissachar and Zevulun, with no tikkunim, Tehillim or special prayers in return.
What does Yissachar and Zevulun mean?
In the blessings at the end of the Torah, Zevulun and Yissachar are blessed together, and Rashi on Deuteronomy 33:18 explains that Zevulun went out to trade and provided for Yissachar, who sat and learned Torah. Giving to Tov Torah follows that partnership: the learning that already takes place in the beit midrash is also the learning of the people who support it.
Can I give my maaser money here?
The donation form has a box to mark a gift as maaser money. Whether maaser may be given here, and how, is a question for your rabbi.
Is there a minimum amount?
No. There is no minimum and no gift is too small. You can give in US dollars or Israeli shekels, and the payment itself is made on PayPal’s secure page.
Keep the learning going, quietly
Every gift goes where it is needed most, from the beit midrash to a meal given with dignity. Quietly, and without anyone knowing.
In partnership with Ezra Mishamayim (עזרה משמים), a registered Israeli non-profit, amuta no. 580613461.