As you prepare for the joy of Purim, the sounds of music and celebration,
we write to you from a city where the holiday spirit is being tested by an
unthinkable tragedy.
Yesterday, a missile strike tore through the heart of *Beit Shemesh*. In an
instant, lives were shattered. Families who were preparing their *mishloach
manot* are now preparing for funerals.
*Rav Avraham Kop*, the founder of *Ezrat Achim*, has served as a *ZAKA*
volunteer for 25 years. He has been on the site of the most difficult
disasters in Israel's history, but after leaving the scene in Beit Shemesh
yesterday, he told us: *"This is the worst I have ever seen."*
While his experience with ZAKA gives him a heartbreakingly clear view of
the devastation, his work with *Ezrat Achim *
is where the healing begins. Their waiting list for help has grown
exponentially in the last 24 hours.
*Ezrat Achim * is the primary provider of
social and medical chessed in Beit Shemesh. Their kitchen is working around
the clock to provide hot, dignified Purim meals to the wounded, the
displaced, and the mourning. But with the sudden surge in need, they are
seriously short on funds.
The stories coming out of the rubble are devastating:
-
A young boy, lightly injured, was supposed to celebrate his *Bar Mitzvah*
this week. Instead, he is sitting shiva for his father.
-
A dedicated *Hatzalah volunteer* was killed alongside her mother while
rushing to help others.
-
Over *300 residents* have been evacuated to hotels, displaced from their
homes with almost nothing.
*In these final hours before Purim, we turn to you.*
The Rambam teaches that there is no greater joy than gladdening the hearts
of the poor, the orphaned, and the widowed. This year, the "poor and
widowed" are our neighbors and our friends in Beit Shemesh.
Please, as you fulfill the Mitzvah of *Matanot La’Evyonim
*, keep these broken families in your hearts.
Let them know they are not alone.
*Click here to provide a Purim meal and emergency support:* 👉
*https://swiy.co/ezratachim
*
May your Purim be one of safety and true simcha, and may we all merit to
see a "V'nahafoch Hu" where our sorrow is turned into lasting salvation.
With deep gratitude and solidarity,
*The Ezrat Achim Team*
*Beit Shemesh, Israel*
