Success Stories: Mordechai & Yehudit
Mordechai was born in Bnei Brak and studied at the Ponovich Yeshiva. He met Yehudit through a shidduch, and they set up a religious home in Rehovot, Israel.
At first, Mordechai continued to study in the Kollel, but after many years in the yeshiva he decided that he had to go out to work and earn a living. Mordechai joined his parents' family business – a chocolate factory in the industrial zone of Ramat Gan, near Bnei Brak, his hometown. Yehudit trained to be a teacher at the Beit Yaakov Seminary, and is now a teacher in one of the chain's elementary schools in Rehovot.
Mordechai and Yehudit only recently had twins – a boy and a girl. They say that trouble finds trouble, and this was indeed the case. Due to a short circuit, the family chocolate factory completely burned down. As a result, Mordechai's father sank into depression. He also subsequently fell ill with Corona and was unconscious for a long time.
The insurance company made the situation even worse by refusing to cover the costs of the extensive damage caused to the factory. The compensation money that was finally given to them was not nearly enough to renovate the factory and purchase the essential new machinery needed to restart the business.
Mordechai was forced to leave his job in the factory and remained without an income for a long time. Yehudit was pregnant with twins at the time and could not work enough to support the family. Mordechai and Yehudit went into debt, and this had a very negative impact on their relationship. Mordechai had no job and no job training.
Mordechai and Yehudit were not willing to take money from charitable organizations in their city. They were ashamed to ask, and in addition they felt that they did not want to be 'needy'. They were not connected to a particular synagogue or community in Rehovot, since Mordechai used to jump from one synagogue to another.
One Shabbat, the Rabbi of a certain synagogue in Rehovot approached him and asked him to make an appointment with him on Saturday night. If the Rabbi asks, it is impossible to refuse.
On Saturday night, Mordechai called the Rabbi and asked to set up the meeting. The Rabbi asked him to come immediately because he urgently wants to talk to him, and important things must not be postponed.
As soon as he entered the Rabbi's house, the Rabbi handed him an envelope. "I heard that you need help and that you are ashamed to ask," the Rabbi told him. "Your father and I are old friends," the Rabbi began, "and he asked me to try to help you. There is little money in the envelope to help you get through the month, but I have one condition: I am a Rabbi, not a financial or employment consultant, I want to help but I do not have the appropriate training for this. So, I very much ask that you contact the Lema'an Achai association to help you, and get you on track with relevant job training," the Rabbi said.
Mordechai was embarrassed and tried to refuse to take the money, but the Rabbi explained that he had already dedicated the money to Mordechai and his family, and that he could not take the money back. "You don't redirect charity. After you get back on your feet, if you want, help another Jew who is in trouble," the Rabbi told him.
All the way from their home in Rehovot to Lema’an Achai’s office in Beit Shemesh, Mordechai and Yehudit were very tense. They were helpless and couldn't sleep well at night for a long time, but they really didn't want to be pitied. They didn't want to receive charitable money.
At Lema’an Achai, the secretary greeted them with a smiling face, gave them forms to fill out, and they immediately entered their first meeting. Mordechai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that they weren't going to leave with another envelope. In addition, they also became very attached to the method of "kindness with wisdom" of Lema’an Achai– to help people lift themselves up and achieve financial independence.
Mordechai and Yehudit went through a short process at Lema’an Achai’s, and within a few months they managed to put themselves on the right path to financial independence. In a meeting with the employment counselor, it became clear that Mordechai has a natural talent for marketing and sales. It was decided that perhaps this was the direction in which he should aim.
Lema’an Achai helped him get accepted to a course in digital marketing and public relations, and even before he finished the course, he succeeded, with the help of Lema’an Achai, in finding a job in the field.
Mordechai and Yehudit turned over a new leaf, and although they were not yet completely out of debt, they decided for Rosh Hashanah to donate the same amount that was in the envelope that the Rabbi gave them to Lema'an Achai.
At the closing meeting, Mordechai and Yehudit mentioned that they wanted to help others, just as the organization had helped them. They said that at first they were a little angry that the Rabbi had sent them to a Chesed organization, especially in Beit Shemesh, and were even a little hurt by it, because they felt that the Rabbi just wanted to pass on the problem to others. But today they appreciated the greatness of the Rabbi who understood that the care of families in mental and economic crises should be transferred to those who specialize in it.
They believe that the only way to truly turn over a new leaf is to lift the family out of the depth of poverty by getting to the root of the problem rather than simply handing over money each month.
"And that's what you're doing at Lema’an Achai– helping families turn over a new leaf!"
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