Hi everyone!
This year, at the Jerusalem Marathon, I will be running for Lev LaChayal to help their efforts in supporting chayalim (soldiers in the Israeli army.)
I currently attend the Lev LaChayal Hesder program (an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces), which is part of Yeshivat Lev HaTorah. I will hopefully be drafting into the IDF this coming March 2019 (and eventually making aliyah!) At Lev, we learn, above all, the importance of being a Jewish leader. So many Lev HaTorah students have risen to leadership positions through their service in the IDF. It’s no wonder that Lev HaTorah has become the first, and only, yeshiva base for lone soldiers willing to take care of all lone soldiers as their own.
But what exactly is a Lone Soldier? He or she is a soldier whose parents live overseas and, as such, cannot provide a home base for their child or help maintain and strengthen his morale throughout his service. There are currently over 7000 lone soldiers in Israel! Lev LaChayal trains and cares for 35 to 40 active soldiers annually. We come home to furnished, cleaned, and well-maintained homes that are always stocked with food. Caring mentors and Rabbanim provide weekly Shabbat and Yom Tov meals, visit our bases, and run programs for us when we are off base. Our community members are also quite active in the program, bringing us extra food and providing rides to the train, all to bring home the message that Am Yisrael stands behind us.
We have dreams of replicating the Lev LaChayal model, and taking care of hundreds of chayalim annually with this awesome and critical program. If we own a few soldier homes, the significant costs involved in running this program will be sustainable, and we’ll be able to soar and expand. We are just $250,000 away from owning our first home.
One of the best things I love about Lev LeChayal is how dedicated the staff is to all its chayalim, being there for all of our needs at any time of the day. Running and raising money for a lone soldier home is the least I can do to give back to this program which is doing so much for my friends and me, every single day. Please join me to do the same - to support this program for all they do for lone soliders.
Let’s buy our first chayal home together by sponsoring this amazing program.
Thank you for your support!
