I humbly and proudly want to tell you about Sabra’s activities in the last two months: Hanukkah events, activities with Holocaust survivors, about Aliyah and immigrants, and of course the ever-expanding activities in Jerusalem.
Hanukkah: In schools and boarding schools
During Hanukkah, we helped the schools and boarding schools where we support the celebration of Hanukkah, the holiday of light. In a little gifts, we delight the children with donuts and lighting the candles. The Representatives from the Afula Municipality have participated in these events, praising Sabra and the donors, when one of the representative told the children about the donors, that they deserve all the praise and blessings. The rush was big from one place to another, from school to school, from boarding school to boarding school. As we hurry up from place to place, one verse runs through my head “… how great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts deepened …” (Psalm 92: 6).
In one school, I have already shared about the subject of first grade kindergarten to many of you.
On January 3rd, we will be at the second M/N/ school which we also helped with the renovation of the classrooms and we will write more about it during the month of January 2022.
Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem and Afula
We visit the houses of the Holocaust survivors in Afula and gave the donated menorah and the candles. Our visits was encouraging and so important especially the attention we gave to each of them. Some of them we gave warm socks (at present, the righteous women knit socks in Finland and some are already on the way to Israel. We will distribute itto the Immigrants and to Jerusalem).
In Jerusalem we are helping about 85 Holocaust survivors, with food stamps, visits, and slowly gain their trust, (For Holocaust survivors, the story is complex and not everyone is “open” to tell their story or even meet strangers, working with them must be slow with a lot of patience. I personally knew this Up close in light of the experiences of my parents and grandparents.
Two of the Holocaust survivors whom we met were dressed up in clothes not warm for the winter, so we bought them some clothes. Both were so happy for our regular visits and for the helpful gifts.
Regarding the meetings of our representative and the girls in Jerusalem – Hannah continues to meet and help.
Committee for Holocaust Survivors
For the first time in Afula, the Afula municipality, headed by the mayor, decided to set up a special committee for Holocaust survivors, as the bureaucracy is complicated, and more and more survivors leave their homes for the health and old age, lack of money to buy food, house heating, etc. I was asked by the deputy mayor to lead the committee in Afula and help. I expressed my consent, and indeed last weekend was the first conference for Holocaust survivors and I presented from the experience that Sabra experienced to the work plan for 2022 and how we can help (we will need your prayers), these people are dwindling before our eyes so at least we can share a few things and little happiness with them.
Let us not forget to continue regularly to help the Holocaust survivors by supporting the medicines they need, the medical equipment to transport them to the hospitals, and the clinics27th of January is the national day of the Holocaust. We like to give them extra attention on this day. Please pray for this.
Help for the needed
At the same time every week, we continue to help the needy with rich food packages: meat, vegetables, fruits, sweets for children, and of course on Hanukkah the food packages were much fuller to celebrate the Feast of Light, each family has its own sad situation, there were families whom could not even pay the electricity bill.
Unusual event
A new immigrant from Belarus whom just divorced had a nine-year-old boy and one-and-a-half-year-old baby. About a week ago, a fire broke out their apartment. They survived from the fire, but they have no place to lay their heads down. That evening, the deputy mayor of Afula picked up the phone and asked if we could help them for few days with give shelter in Sabra. They lost almost everything. We have to help them. Please pray for them.
To you my dear friends I thank, pray and congratulate you for giving this generous hand. It’s not taken for granted. It is all by the grace of heaven and to you who obey the divine command and help.
“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for them for what they have done.”
Proverbs 19:17 Be blessed from above
Mordechai ben Yakov
Director Sabra Foundation
