I will never forget the night I came back from the levaya of my dear friend and neighbor, R’ Avraham Meir Levy Z”L.  It was well past midnight when I went to help the new almanah and her 6 young orphans sit down for the Seudat Havra’a, the meal which is eaten by the mourners after a funeral.

Mrs. Levy pulled me over to the side, and asked me if I would continue to help her now that her husband, my friend, was no longer with us.  At such a tragic time in her life, this is the thought which was in her mind. I promised her that I would continue to do whatever I could for her; that I wouldn’t abandon her now that her husband was gone.

I’ve tried my best to help the Levys during Avraham Meir’s drawn-out illness, and since his untimely petirah.  As a social worker, I’ve tried to use my knowledge and connections to get as much help for the family as possible.  Since the Levy’s are Anglos, they don’t know all the ins and outs of how things work here in Israel, so I’ve tried to connect them with the right government agencies and organizations which can help them out.  I’ve also acted as their Hebrew-speaking representative, speaking with various tzedaka organizations to try to procure funding.

BH so many kind people have reached out to help the Levys, but the need is still great.  As Avraham Meir’s first yahrzeit approaches, I am turning to you for help.

For 14 years, Avraham Meir z”l and his wife Baila lived a simple lifestyle, raising 6 children on a meager kollel stipend.  Yet they never complained; their home was filled with a palpable joy and energy.  Avraham Meir’s devastating diagnosis—and his ensuing 22-month battle with cancer—crushed the family financially, wiping out whatever paltry savings they had.

Baila - a beloved EYAHT alumna who gave up a comfortable life in the States to bring up a Torah family in Eretz Yisrael—was left to care for her husband around-the-clock, caring for him whenever he was well enough to be home, and commuting back and forth to the hospital during the many times he needed more intensive care. She did so with love and faith, despite having almost no time to tend to the house and children, let alone bring in some much-needed income. The Levys’ friends and family gave whatever they could, but 22 months of zero income left the family in a dark place of poverty.

Since Avraham Meir’s petirah, several tzedaka organizations have come to the rescue, sending much-needed funds to supplement Bituach Leumi’s monthly payment for widows and orphans. As is standard practice, these tzedaka organizations pledged their support for one year—and that year is coming to an end.  

Particularly for a family with 6 young children—all of whom desperately need regular tutors and therapists after two years of excruciating emotional trauma and upheaval—the monthly Bituach Leumi payment alone is not nearly enough.

Everyone who is close to the family, including Baila’s bereavement counselor, agree that right now, Baila must devote her energies to helping her family heal—not to becoming a full time breadwinner. Though she does work for several hours in the morning while her children are in school, her salary will not be enough to live on once the tzedaka organizations stop helping out.

We need your help!

Can you help us raise enough money to give Baila one more year of healing—one more year in which she doesn’t have to worry about paying the electric bill, buying her daughters a new dress for Yom Tov, or choosing healthy, wholesome food for the kids?

For Baila and her 6 orphans, these 12 months of healing can spell the difference between a healthy recovery—and a lifelong emotional struggle.

Baila and her kids have come so far. Can you help them reach a place of stability and strength?

With your donation, you’ll be enabling a family of six vibrant children to stand a chance at a happy, balanced life.

Please, help me keep my promise I made to Mrs. Levy the night of the Levaya.

In the zechus of this enormous mitzvah—directly helping a widow and orphans, who are deeply beloved to Hashem—may you and your family never know of such pain.

Tizku L’Mitzvos,

Eli Yemini

;