Website oorah.org | Founder Rabbi Chaim Mintz | |
Headquarters Lakewood (CDP), New Jersey, New Jersey, U.S. Similar Kars4Kids, CharityWatch, Beth Medrash Govoha, National Council of Young Isr, Hatzalah | ||
Oorah, or sometimes Oorah Kiruv Rechokim, Hebrew for "awaken and bring in those who are far" (a reference to educating non-observant Jews), is an incorporated Orthodox Jewish kiruv (outreach) organization founded in 1980 "with the goal of awakening Jewish children and their families to their heritage." It is a United States based 501(C)3 non-profit organization.
Contents
History
Oorah, Inc. was founded by Rabbi Chaim Mintz and its day-to-day operation is run by Rabbi Eliyohu Mintz (son of the founder) out of Lakewood, New Jersey.
Programs
Oorah operates and/or funds 49 different programs that target Jewish outreach (Kiruv) and learning, family support, personal growth, and relationship counseling. It promotes family support and development. It runs summer camps for boys and girls, Jewish holiday enrichment, early, primary, and secondary educational support and enrichment, as examples.
Fundraising
Oorah employs a number of different fund-raising entities to keep its many programs running. They operate Kars4Kids (a car-donation program) and run an annual "Chinese auction," offering tickets for a variety of prizes at five dollars each. They have a mascot named Fiveish, a five dollar bill who has starred in YouTube videos in both animated and costume version. As a bonus to purchasing auction tickets, donors can receive a DVD and or CD of that year's edition of the "shmorg."
Legal issues
In the summer of 2007, 31 undocumented workers doing work for a subcontractor at Oorah's summer camp were arrested in a raid by ICE and local law enforcement. Camp director Eliyohu Mintz stated that the organization was not aware that the workers lacked employment authorization.
On September 11, 2010, Oorah's website was hacked by radical Islamists posting antisemitic messages.