By Jeff Eisenberg and Moshe Bodner
Tichleh Shanah v’Kililoteha. Tachel Shanah u’Virchotehah
The famous piyut, Achot Ketana, that many say on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, sums up the feelings of our entire nation.
Goodbye to last year and its curses, we welcome the new year and its blessings.
Finally!
By the time the Yomim Noraim period of 5784 concluded, Hashem had clearly told us, “I need more from you, My people.” And we all hope and pray that our national and communal responses to the Simchat Torah Massacre have been pleasing to Him.
It is easy to focus on the unanswered prayers—the atrocities committed by our enemies on October 7 and beyond, the fallen and wounded soldiers, hostages who have not returned home and many who never will. Businesses destroyed, families torn apart, and Jews (and non-Jews) suffering and in pain.
But we also must be thankful, we must see the good.
For example, on Saturday night, April 13, Iran launched a rocket attack on Israel—over 300 missiles and drones were aimed at Jerusalem and other parts of the country—and 99% of them were intercepted. Thank You Hashem!
On October 7, Mr. Yerucham Rivlin, a father of 12 from the town of Otniel, lost two sons at the Nova Festival. But, he sees things differently than one might imagine. Four of his children attended the festival, and two survived. Following the shivah, he visited the Nova site with the two surviving sons, and they gave him a tour—“This is where I hid,” “This is the spot where Aviad was killed,” “Over there is where Gidi was murdered.” Having seen the site of the atrocities, and understanding that Hamas was on a no holds barred rampage, he realized that it was a miracle that two of his sons made it home. He told us, “I realized, when I saw with my eyes what happened, there is no logical reason that all of the people there weren’t killed. Two of my sons died, but two made it home, against all odds. I am thankful to Hashem because on October 7, He didn’t take away four of my kids, He gave back two.”
So as we close out the year, we would like to express our hakarat hatov to everyone who helped the Israel Chesed Center—which did not exist 12 months ago and was born out of necessity and hard work—grow into the largest organization providing aid for soldiers and civilians, while ensuring that the entire community has limitless opportunities to do chesed and assist our brothers and sisters in Israel.
And specifically, thank you to…
Our wives and kids. Shira and Adena, the original “Chesed Center Widows.” Without your patience, support, and encouragement, we would be back to our pre-October 7 lives! And, of course, to our kids, who have been helpful in the Chesed Center (nobody teaches tzitzit tying like EJ!), taking bags to Israel (Raylie, Tamar, and Momo), distributing gear from his dorm room (Yonatan) or simply being understanding of why we have been more focused on our extended family 6,000 miles away than on them. We love you!
Our Team in Israel. Shiri Hadar, Yissachar Halpern, David Rose, and many others. Getting the right gear to the right people, dealing with Israeli bureaucracy, and working with us is not easy! But they do it with a smile.
Community Leaders. Over 40 shuls have partnered with us over the past year, but as much as we would prefer not to single out any specific rabbanim, we must specifically express our gratitude to Rabbis Ya’akov Trump (YILC) and Zalman Wolowik (Chabad of the 5T), our partners and the “morei d’atrah” of the Chesed Center; and Rabbi Sender Gluck of Khal Chasidim of Lawrence, (where Jeff and Moshe first met) who enabled us to launch our initial gear campaign.
Schools and Camps. Virtually all of the local yeshivot, and many summer camps, have partnered with us, and we are grateful to you for lending us your students, allocating resources, and allowing us to push you into projects that are typically not parts of your curriculum or schedule! Thank you to Brandeis; HAFTR; HALB (DRS and SKA); HANC; MAY; Ohr Israel (Boston); Rambam; Shulamith; SSLI; YOSS; Camp Avnet; Hillel Country Day Camp; Camp Revach; and Camp Morasha.
Partner Organizations. By October 10, hundreds of organizations sprang up, all with a goal of helping in the “war effort.” A year later, a handful remain, and all are critical to the effort. Thank you to our partners: Yakir and team at Boots for Israel; BC Lev Echad; Yossi Newman and Just One Chesed / Chamal Lagiborim; Migdal Ohr; Soldiers Save Lives / Let’s Do Something in Memory of David Newman, HY’D; Beef up Our Boys; Ascent of Tzfat; and Ezras Yakov.
Business Partners. Thank you to so many local businesses for helping us along the way. We could not have done it without you, we appreciate you, and we encourage everyone to express their gratitude by working with you! Print on Point (Mikey, you’re a star!); Minuteman Press (New Rochelle); Ezra (free trucking); Alan Shulman / Main Event Mauzone Caterers (thank you for feeding hundreds of hungry volunteers!); NY Fun Factory (the 1-month deal to borrow tables and chairs is way expired!); Bravo Pizza; Seasons; Gourmet Glatt; Adam’s Glatt: Crave!; SML; Iced; SplenD’or; Seegal; Fruit Platters & More; The Cheese Store; Central Perk; Dimples; Jerusalem Florist; Spruce D’Vine; Hakerem; Jezreel Wines; Runflow Art; Five Towns Jewish Times, Jewish Home, Jewish Vues, The Jewish Press; and 5 Towns Central.
Volunteers. With over 3,000 people on our various WhatsApp chats, it’s impossible to name everyone! Every time we put out a request, hundreds of people will drop what they are doing to help in any way. Clearly, we can’t name everyone! But it goes without saying that nothing could happen at the Chesed Center without the incredible efforts of Pessie Steinberg. And hopefully nobody will be (or should be) insulted by us naming a few of the undisputed volunteer heavyweights of our community—Estee, JJ, Aviva, Shalom, Chaim, Lori, Marci, and Ruthie; Our Design and Social Media Team—Allysa, Esther, Hodaya, Judith, Ayalah, Hallie and Leebs; Our Musicians and Tech volunteers—Ahron, Eitan, Menachem, Shlomo, Sholom, Yaakov and Matthew; and finally, Ovadia and the chevra at Israelis for Israel! And of course, huge hakarat hatov to the spouses, i.e. the “Chesed Center Widows” (thank you Arnie for coining the term).
Without a roof over our heads, the bags and gear would get wet! So we have immeasurable appreciation for the people who have housed us! Thank you to Abi Liff and Jeff Friedberg for opening up their Mill Street warehouse to us on October 10, and to The Shul of Saddle Ridge for giving us their kiddush rooms for a couple of months. Finally, we are extremely grateful to the Pilevsky family for providing us with our current home on Peninsula Boulevard. Thank you!
Without the help of all of the individuals, organizations, rabbanim and leaders, we would not have been able to help our communities, over the past year, achieve this:
• Transported over 6,000 duffel bags of gear to IDF bases and Security Teams, and over 2,000 bags of brand-new clothing and other supplies for displaced persons. Thank you to El Al for your support and assistance!
• Facilitated the purchase and donation of over $10,000,000 in gear, including:
o Over 1,000 Tactical Helmets and Vests;
o Winter Gear: Thermals, sleeping bags, soft shell jackets, and other cold-weather gear
o Tactical Gear: Uniforms, gloves, kneepads and multitools
o Safety Gear: Tactical glasses, goggles, gun-mounted flashlights, First Aid kits
o Boots: over 1,000 pairs of military boots
o Soldier Health: hundreds of thousands of blister bandages, rash creams, protein bars, beef jerky bags, hydration kits, and more.
• Transported by ship 7 forty-foot cargo containers of medical gear, supplies and clothing to Israel.
• Sent two cargo planes loaded with 1,100 tents and 27 pallets of medical supplies.
• ICC Simcha Fund has shipped over 30 wedding gowns to Israel approximately 100 suits for chattanim and bar mitzvah boys, and has provided financial assistance for five smachot, including a sheva brachot for a low-income family on an IDF base, enabling the chayalim to enjoy a catered barbecue while being “m’sameach chattan v’kallah.”
• Shabbat / Chagim Programs: For every chag since October 7, the ICC has assisted chayalim and their families, displaced families, and others impacted by the war:
o Shabbat BaShetach: between Shabbat Bereishit and Pesach, we prepared and delivered over 400,000 Shabbat meals to over 100 IDF bases!
o Sponsored and coordinated scores of BBQ’s on various bases throughout Israel.
o Chanukah: over 100 duffel bags of Chanukah gifts to mefunim, soldiers and their families.
o Purim: over 100 duffel bags, 5,000 Purim costumes, and over 1,000 mishloach manot to displaced families and families of active-duty soldiers.
o Pesach: Raised over $250,000 for Passover needs for families of IDF soldiers, and sent over $250,000 worth of brand-new clothing to displaced families.
o Sukkot: In partnership with Shir Chadash of Yerushalyim, the IDF Rabbanut and Sgt. Sruli Wiener (who was just called back into service), we recently launched a campaign to supply arba minim to 5,000 chayalim!
If nothing else, our success proves the power of unity. Over the past 12 months, our communities have united, individuals have united, shuls and schools and businesses have united, all with a common purpose—helping fellow Jews in need. Ish Echad B’lev Echad.
As we end this difficult year, our berachot to the community are that the Israel Chesed Center will very soon no longer be needed, and that every one of us will be blessed to be able to perform chesed and do acts of kindness for many years. Hashem should answer our tefillot and bless us with a year of simcha, health, wealth, happiness, and nachat. May we merit for the hostages to return home to their families, for our chayalim to be safe, wounded soldiers to heal, and bereaved families to be comforted.
Please join us on October 7, the calendar anniversary of the Simchat Torah Massacre, from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., as we memorialize the victims and honor the heroes of Am Yisrael.
K’tivah Vachatima Tovah
B’Yachad Nenatzeach.
