By Rabbi Yair Hoffman
Yochanan Herschlag is a frum young man, whose father is a sofer. Yochanan is from Yeshiva Avni Kodesh and has been languishing in prison for a long time on false accusations. Due to financial hardship, he is unable to afford a capable attorney who can defend him in the legal battle to prove his innocence.
https://thechesedfund.com/pidyonshvuyimfund/hershlag
The Rambam lists 8 Mitzvos that are fulfilled with this Mitzvah:
1] Lo saametz es Levavcha – Do not tighten your heart(Dvarim 15:7)
· 2] veLo Sikpotz es yadcha – Nor shall you tighten your hand (Dvarim 15:7)
· 3] Lo saamod al dam rayacha – Do not stand idly by your brother’s blood (VaYikra 19:16)
· 4] Lo yirdeno beferech leainecha – Do not let him go down in excessive labor in front of your eyes (Vayikra 25:53)
· 5] Pasoach tiftach es yadcha lo You shall surely open your hand for him (Dvarim 15:8)
· 6] Vechai achicha imach – And your brother shall live with you (Vayikra 25:36)
· 7] Veahavta lerayacha kamocha –love your friend as yourself (Vayikra 19:18)
· 8] Hatzel lakuchim lemavais – Save those taken toward their death (Mishlei 24:11)
I personally know this sofer as a tzaddik of a person as do so many others – including rebbitzen //////yamima Mizrachi, and mashgichim of Yeshivos. At this point, his defense fund has $6578 and he requires another $43,422.
https://thechesedfund.com/pidyonshvuyimfund/hershlag
Yochanan is a fine young man from the best of the yeshiva students, and truly a G-d-fearing talmud chachom, who is engaged in the settlement of the Land of Israel; and he has no criminal record whatsoever.
Yohanan was caught in his place of residence, and his very presence in the vicinity caused him to be treated as a violent nationalist.
Rabbi Chaim and Rebbetzin Yamima Mizrachi are familiar with the case and are asking everyone who can afford to, to contribute a significant sum for the Mitzvag of Pidyon Shevuim. A mitzvah which all generations have strove intensely to fulfill, and whose reward cannot be described or measured.
In addition, his father was attacked by Arabs and sustained an eye injury which severely limits his output. He is barely able to help his son’s legal case.
https://thechesedfund.com/pidyonshvuyimfund/hershlag
בית דין צדק
קהילות האשכנזים ביתר עילית
אחרי חג סוכות תשפ”ד
המלצה ובקשה קדושה
Behold we issue a warm and special request for the dear and fine very G-d fearing Chassidic man who devotes his life to raising and education his family for the glory of Torah and Chassidus
Rabbi Yonason Herschlag Shlitta
For decades he earned his living as an expert and well-known scribe, but due to a recent eye injury resulting from an attack of blood-thirsty Arab terrorists, he is barely able to continue writing, and his livelihood has been crippled. This is on top of the fact that the rabbi and his wife approached the light of Hashem and mitzvoh observance on their own, with no relatives or foundation to support them, and they alone must care for their large family.
Therefore, we enjoin him with a request of our Jewish brethren, please receive him with a warm welcome and with generous and substantial contributions that are worthy for this great mitzvoh. And may this mitzvoh guard and help the doers and the deeds granting great success and all good.
בית דין צדק
ביתר עילית
קהילות האשכנזים
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3 Responses
What makes you so sure he is innocent? The picture that emerges from his indictment is very different from the one you present.
Gedol Hador, thanks for asking. First off, the halacha is that a Yid has a chazaka of innocence despite an indictment. Even goyim by gentile law must be considered innocent until proven guilty. But in this case we are talking about a yeshiva bochur indicted by apikorsim. A yeshiva bochur with a homlotza from his Rosh Yeshiva that he is yiras shamayim and a talmid chachom. So why would you suspect him of being guilty?
Was he charged with a “crime” that was a violation of halacha? What are you suggesting?
This is a case in which the Shabak arrested my son, a twenty-year-old yeshiva bochur, Yochanon Herschlag, and imprisoned him in kella Rimonim for more than ten months on false charges.
The circumstances began with an incident that occurred near Efrat on November 17th, 2021, when Arabs initiated an attack against Jewish bochrim. Yochanon who was nearby ran to the nearest IDF outpost, calling for them to rescue the Jews from the attack. As the soldiers were indifferent and unresponsive, Yochanon raised his voice in desperation, and he was photographed by the soldiers as he was yelling at them.
One of the Arabs was lightly injured by a rock to his head, and B’Tselem fabricated a complaint, pressuring the Israeli authorities to prosecute the “offense”. With the police unable to identify any of the Jews involved, Shabak was inducted to execute the bidding of B’Tselem. On April 1st, after six months of searching, Shabak used the picture taken by the soldiers to identify Yochanon as having been near the incident, and arrested him for questioning.
They pressed him to reveal the name of the bochur who injured the Arab with a rock, but Yochanon denied knowing. They pressed him to reveal the names of other bochrim who were present at the conflict, but he denied any involvement or knowledge of the event. They then beat him in attempt to force him to provide information, but Yochanon held fast to his right to remain silent.
It was then that Shabak decided to use Yochanon as the scapegoat for punishment for the alleged crime in which the Arab attacker was injured. The charges allege that Yochanon was an accomplice to the alleged crime of “Racially motivated assault causing actual injury”.
With continued extensive bullying and trampling of human rights, the prosecutors were confident in forcing a guilty plea to win their case, despite lack of evidence to procure a conviction via trial, but Rav Dov Kook of Tiveria instructed Yochanon to maintain his innocence.
Bail was denied, and Yochanon rejected their offer of an alternative to prison a secular rehabilitation institution that imposes mandatory violations of halacha. After over ten months in prison the supreme court forced the lower court to provide a secured jail alternative in which Yochanon could observe halacha.
So far, the prosecution has only requested one hearing to present “evidence”, and that hearing backfired on them when their star witness admitted under cross examination, that it was the Arabs that initiated the conflict by destroying Jewish property that was on land which he claimed to own; he presented a “document” scribbled in Arabic “proving” his ownership of the property, but that document was ruled inadmissible.
The charges are still standing, and our lawyers are once again appealing to the supreme court to release him from the current jail alternative restrictions. However, the courts have denied him the right to a speedy trial, and thereby maintain the charges are still in effect, thus continuing the false claim of him being a national security threat. (a yeshiva bochur, with no past criminal record).
I have borrowed tens of thousands of dollars to defend Yochanon, and much progress has been made towards proving his innocence, but the threat of conviction is still hovering over our family. Fortunately, our sixth child recently became a kalah, with the wedding set for February 1st, 2024, however, as we cannot keep up with our current expenses and debts, and can’t afford to get deeper into debt to provide for our kalah’s needs, we have initiated this online campaign to help with the future expenses of pidyon shvuim and hachnosis kalah.