Why I offered a 50,000 shekel reward

• Published date: 30 June 2022

Not only don't his parents know where he is… they have no idea what even happened to him. He was last seen on Shabbat, March 26th in Meron. He spoke to his parents on Erev Shabbat and told them that he was going to spend Shabbat in Meron wit a group led by Rabbi Yoel Roth, who was visiting from Williamsburg. Security cameras showed that he was in Meron on that Shabbat and then… he was gone. Nobody has seen or heard from him since. Recently, there has been a break in the case, but a gag-order has been issued, and we are not exactly sure what is happening. Therefore, we are proceeding along as we have in the past, with no change in the search, until new information is obtained

Here are the possibilities being investigated:

Did Moishe fall down a hill into the woods around Meron? It's possible – many people meditate in these areas, and they are quite dangerous.

Was he kidnapped by the Lev Tahor cult? Also, possible – these things have been done before, although smuggling him out of Israel would not have been easy.

Did he run away from home? The police are checking this as well, although he was on excellent terms with his parents, so it's not likely.

Did he attempt to daven at one of the kivrei Tzaddikim in an Arab village, something which he did in the past, only this time he didn't make it out safely? Israel's "GSS" (Shin-Bet) is looking into this although the investigation is secret.

Was he abducted by someone posing as a friend, who might have harmed him in some way? Did he go on a hike? Swim in the Kinneret? Anything is possible.

In short, there are many questions and very few answers but just one thing matters to his parents. They simply want Moishe back home… and so they made the video pleading with Am Yisrael for help. Maybe somebody saw him or communicated with him or knows what happened. I watched that video and it ripped at my heart. How much pain are these parents in? How can they sleep? How can they enjoy Shabbat without knowing where their son is? Is he alive? If he safe? Or… I don't even want to write the words.

So, I jumped into action, not because I'm anyone special, but because Ahavat Yisrael demands that we feel the pain of a fellow Jew. My first phone call was to my dear friend, Yekutiel "Mike" Ben-Yaakov who is the founder and director of the Israel Dog Unit. Unlike other groups that just woke up now in this case, Mike has been involved in searching for Moishe since early April. His dedicated volunteers and highly trained SAR (search and...