
During a dinner held in the US for the Mir Yeshiva, haredi billionaire Shlomo Rechnitz announced that he would raise the "salaries" of the yeshiva's students by twenty percent.
The yeshiva's staff was amazed by the amount, and gifted him a Torah scroll in gratitude.
According to Kikar Hashabbat, which reported the announcement, sources in the yeshiva's staff said that for years, attempts had been made to raise the salaries of the yeshiva's students, but "it was impossible to do such a thing for such a large number of students. Even a one percent raise costs a fortune."
Last year, ahead of the Passover holiday and in light of the budgetary difficulties faced by the Mir Yeshiva, Rechnitz donated $4 million to the students.
Rechnitz is known for the enormous amounts he donates to the Lithuanian haredi Torah world. Prior to every holiday, he donates millions of dollars to Lithuanian-haredi yeshivas, and this year, he marked a new high.
Rechnitz also operates pre-Passover donations in several haredi areas, providing for needy families ahead of the holiday.