Success Stories: Eliyahu & Aliza
"You don't know how much you helped my son, Eliyahu's family. You really save lives. My son's life was on the verge of destruction, and thanks to you, we were privileged to rebuild it."
This is the opening sentence of a letter that we received from an elderly Jew living in Boston, USA, just a few days ago.
"Eliyahu, my son, immigrated to Israel with my daughter-in-law, Aliza, and their three children, nine years ago. At first, they moved to Jerusalem to the Ramot neighborhood, but very quickly they decided they wanted to live in a yishuv and decided to move to Gush Etzion. They chose Gush Etzion because their eldest daughter needed to attend an integrated special-needs education framework, and Gush Etzion had such a school.
Socially, everything was excellent, but economically they found it very difficult to find jobs. For years, Eliyahu, a musician by profession, found it difficult to find jobs. Although he had students who came to study music with him, the family's expenses were more than their income. In order to supplement their income, Eliyahu contacted the Rabbi of the community without Aliza's knowledge, and it was decided that the community's Chessed Committee would help with thousands of shekels every month until they found a way to make a decent living.
About a year ago, the Chessed Committee sent a letter to their family's mailbox that due to a sharp decline (apparently as a result of the coronavirus) in donations and the large number of families who had applied to the fund this year, they were forced to reduce the level of assistance they were giving.
Aliza felt immense shame. Until that moment, she had not known that she and her family had been so reliant on charity, and even more so she was very angry that her husband, Eliyahu, had hidden it from her. Although he did this out of love for Aliza and out of a desire for her not to worry too much, Aliza saw this as a lack of trust.
Without going into details, the relationship between Eliyahu, my dear and beloved son, and my daughter-in-law, became very rocky, and in addition to his financial worries, mistrust was created between them." The father in his letter continues to write:
"When I learned of this, I remembered that I had been contributing to Lema’an Achai for several years. I asked Eliyahu to contact the organization's executive director, Rabbi Avraham Levinthal, who periodically visits our congregation in Boston, to send him regards and ask for his help."
"Eliyahu and Aliza were placed under the auspices of Lema'an Achai and went through a whole program with counselors and social workers, in order to rebuild the trust between them. Eliyahu found a permanent job as a music teacher at the high school yeshiva near their home, and Thank G-d their lives returned to normal – and all thanks to the amazing people of Lema'an Achai", concluded the father.
The father added a very moving sentence: "The Temple was destroyed because of unfounded hatred. You at Lema'an Achai add unconditional love and save lives among many couples, such as Eliyahu and Aliza. And in fact you are rebuilding houses that were on the verge of destruction, and I wish you that you will soon be able to complete the construction of your home (the International Chessed Center) so that you can save many families. I very much want to be part of Lema’an Achai, and I call on all my friends to join me and the members of this important organization.'
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The Abitbols from Ashkelon
From Wandering and Despair to Hope
The Alkalasi Family
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