Malka—Celebrating Passover with Joy and Appreciation

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Malka is a 67-year-old Jewish immigrant from Morocco. In the parking lot of a Jerusalem high school where she came to pick up her Passover food boxes provided by The Fellowship, she spoke to a Fellowship staff member about her life in Morocco and the trials she has encountered since moving to Israel as a child.

Morocco was once home to 250,000 Jewish people. Now, only 7,000 Jews remain. Malka lived in Casablanca, which was the center of Jewish life before 1948, when the modern state of Israel was established. Upon learning that Jews could now return to live in the Holy Land after centuries of exile, Malka and her family went to Israel, determined to help shape the future of the Jewish people in their biblical homeland.

Following in the tradition of Moroccan Jews, Malka was married at age seventeen. With a smile, she recalled the early years of her marriage. Her husband, Sasson, was a hard worker, who never missed a day of work at construction sites around Jerusalem. While he worked, Malka stayed home and took care of the daily needs of their growing family.

Tragically, Sasson was killed fighting in the Israel Defense Forces during the 1982 Lebanon War, leaving Malka with the burden of providing for their four daughters. "I was so proud to have my husband fighting for Israel's survival, I didn't even think about the potential dangers," she said. "Having those army sergeants show up at my door to announce my husband's death took me back to reality, and taught me that establishing the Jewish homeland took painful sacrifice. My children and I broke down crying. It was heartbreaking. I suddenly felt all alone."

With nowhere to turn for financial help, Malka set out to find a job for the first time in her life. "Times weren't easy back then. Everyone was an immigrant, mostly refugees from the Holocaust. There was no Fellowship to turn to," she said with a half smile. Malka split her time between taking care of her family and working. She had to make do with a small check she received each month from the Israeli Army, and the paltry salary she made as a house cleaner. She did not have enough money to provide for her family, and went deeper and deeper in debt.

Currently, three of Malka's daughters live at home with her. Limor, the eldest, moved back home when her husband lost his job and could not afford to pay their rent. The other two, Efrat and Michal, are both in the army and come home for weekends and holidays. Malka is now disabled and has not worked for over two years. It seems there is never enough money to provide for their basic needs. "I have a slipped disc, and after so many years of cleaning houses and taking care of three girls on my own, I can barely get around, even if I take pain medication," she said.

The family's financial woes weighed heavily on Malka as she thought of the upcoming Passover holiday. "We did not know how we would have the basic foods to celebrate Passover," she says. "But now, with these food boxes, not only will we not go hungry—we will celebrate Passover with joy and appreciation!"

As Limor and her husband David carried away the food boxes, Malka gave heartfelt thanks to The Fellowship's generous partners for reaching out and enabling her to provide food for her family. Thank you for giving the gift of a joyful Passover to a family in need.