Helping Victims

As Jewish families around the world prepare to welcome the New Year, the Russian Jewish Community Foundation (RJCF) is once again standing with Israel’s widows and orphans.

Through its partnership with Chabad’s Terror Victims Project (CTVP), RJCF helped provide more than $150,000 in direct holiday assistance to widows and orphans, helping families celebrate Rosh Hashanah and the High Holidays with dignity, warmth and joy.

This support is part of an ongoing relationship with these families throughout the year. This summer, CTVP hosted more than 100 widows and 300 orphans for a five-day, all-inclusive retreat in Jerusalem, giving mothers and children an opportunity to rest, reconnect and draw strength from one another.

Now, as the High Holidays approach, that embrace continues.

Chabad’s Terror Victims Project extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Russian Jewish Community Foundation for helping bring strength, comfort and practical assistance to Israel’s widows and orphans during the holidays and throughout the year.

May we all be blessed with a sweet, healthy and peaceful New Year.

STRONGER THAN THE HEADLINES

Three bereaved families share a Rosh Hashanah message of faith, gratitude, and hope.

Here we are, just two days before Rosh Hashanah, doing everything we can to reach as many families of fallen and wounded soldiers and victims of terror as possible.

I have to admit that reading the news coming from the United States—and now Britain—often causes me great emotional distress. I am sure many of you feel the same.

But when I feel this way, I am fortunate to experience something that most people do not: I get to meet the victims of terror and war in person.

Time and again, I walk into their homes thinking that I am there to lift their spirits—whether before a Yom Tov, to help arrange a family simcha, or simply to see how they are doing and what they need.

And yet, somehow, the opposite happens.

These are families who have made the ultimate sacrifice and suffered unimaginable loss. Yet they remain deeply grateful, appreciating every act of kindness and every expression of support.

They lift my spirits, not the other way around.

They remind me that the Jewish people are far stronger than the headlines. They remind me that even in the face of terrible heartbreak, faith, gratitude, and resilience endure.

And every time I leave one of their homes, I leave with renewed hope.

I hope that reading the story of these three families—and especially their own words of thanks—will do the same for you.

Three Fathers. Three Widows. Sixteen Orphaned Children.

On the eve of Israel’s Independence Day in 2022, two terrorists arrived in Elad and carried out a brutal attack with axes. Three fathers were murdered and others were wounded before the terrorists fled and were captured following a manhunt.

Oren Ben Yiftach, of blessed memory, 35, from Lod, was a father of six. A driver by profession, he unknowingly drove the terrorists to Elad. They murdered him in his car.

Boaz Gol, of blessed memory, 49, from Elad, was a father of five. He was murdered in the city park.

Yonatan Havakuk, of blessed memory, 44, from Elad, was a father of five. He was murdered after attempting to fight the terrorists and protect those around him.

Together, they left behind three widows and 16 orphaned children.

Dear Chabad and your supporters,

I am sending you my warmest blessings and wishes for a good and sweet New Year.

Gmar Chatima Tova. May you be blessed to be written and sealed in the Book of Life, with goodness and peace. May Hashem fulfill all the wishes of your hearts for the best, and may you see blessing and success in everything you do.

Hashem never forgets anyone! You are His messengers.

May He send you endless blessings and abundance. Amen!

With great appreciation,

Galit Gol

Dear Chabad Staff and the wonderful people who support you,

We are here on vacation in Jerusalem, enjoying ourselves and getting some much-needed rest.

It is the month of Elul, and the special atmosphere in holy Jerusalem gives us so much strength.

The hotel is amazing, and the care and love we receive from Chabad means so much to us.

The kids are so happy and having such a wonderful time that just doesn’t seem to end!

Thank you for giving us this breath of fresh air and the strength you give us throughout the year to keep on going.

Limor Havakuk

Wow. Simply amazing!!

Everything was absolutely perfect and so well organized, down to the smallest detail.

A huge thank you to all the organizers and supporters for your constant generosity year-round and all the love you give us.

May Hashem bless you with everything good.

Nofar Ben Yiftach

When you go to shul this Rosh Hashanah and reflect on the year that has passed, please remember the hundreds of families like the Gol, Havakuk, and Ben Yiftach families whom you have helped us embrace.

And as we enter a new year, please continue our partnership by standing with Israel’s victims of terror and war—the bereaved families, the widows and orphans, and the wounded soldiers whose lives have been changed forever.

Only with your help can we do what we do.

And this is our promise to you: we will continue to be there for them - to help them, support them, and stand beside them for as long as they need us and for as long as they want us by their side.

Thank you for making that possible.

May Hashem bless you and your family with a good and sweet New Year, filled with an abundance of His blessings, good health, great success, and much, much Nachas.

And may we all be blessed with a year of true and lasting peace everywhere.

Bringing the Warmth of the Holidays to Israel’s Widows and Orphans

I Went to Strengthen Them. They Strengthened Me