October 15, 2009

Shalom,

I will always cherish the beautiful memories I have of holidays during my childhood. For months, my sisters and I would mark days off of the calendar in anticipation of Hanukkah, when our entire family would gather together for prayer, delicious home-cooked foods, and a festive celebration.

In the days leading up to the holiday, our house was filled with the delicious smells of my mother's cooking, and we all waited anxiously for the feast. We knew that on holidays my mother served special foods that we did not eat during the rest of the year. Even today, the memory of those delicious meals makes my mouth water.

I also remember the excitement and happiness that I felt while opening holiday gifts from my parents. I would shake the packages and try to guess what was inside: "Abba," I would ask my father, "is it a new toy or a new outfit?" "You have to open it to see," he would respond with a sly grin. I would rip off the wrapping to reveal my present, which always seemed to be perfect. I’d then run to my parents, give them each a big hug, and thank them profusely. "Anything to make you happy, my dear," my father would reply, his voice brimming over with love.

Now that I am married with two children of my own, I can better understand how the love and support I was given by my parents while growing up helped make me a confident, secure, and happy adult. This is why my husband and I do all we can to surround our children with love and support—and why it pains me so much to see needy children in Israel and the former Soviet Union (FSU) who grow up without loving families, and without the basic essentials of life, like food, shelter, and clothing—and certainly without any "luxuries," like gifts during the holiday season.

For these children, the holidays will not be joyous family affairs. They will not have delicious home-cooked meals or presents to open from their parents. Toys are something they can only dream about—they are praying that God will provide them and their families with food, fuel to heat their homes during the winter, and warm clothing that is not torn and threadbare.

Now, thanks to The Fellowship's Holiday Gift Catalog, you have the unique opportunity to provide life-saving gifts to these children and elderly Jews in Israel and the FSU. Your gift of food, clothing, shelter, or medicine will truly brighten the holidays of someone who might otherwise have gone without these essentials.

I hope you will take this opportunity today to browse through our Holiday Gift Catalog and provide poor Jewish children and elderly with these gifts that will mean so much to them. That way, when you see smiles on the faces of children this holiday season, you can feel good knowing that you are providing joy to God's people in need half way around the world.

With blessings from Jerusalem,
Yael