“Every day I ask for Peace and Happiness, for Everyone”

The Fellowship  |  September 22, 2025

Visit to Khona Belaya - JDC - Bender, Moldova - July 10, 2025 woman in turquoise blue shirt, yellow safety vest holding up slice of apple for elderly woman in blue pajamas with floral pattern, sitting in a bed - green sheets with pink flowers - table with brown and beige tablecloth, plate of apples, jar of honey
Photo: JDC

This Rosh Hashanah carries special meaning for Khona, an elderly Jewish woman in the former Soviet republic of Moldova. It is a time to pray —for health, peace, and sweetness in life. This year, Khona received sweetness in the form of traditional Rosh Hashanah apples and honey from The Fellowship, along with a food package of sugar, cereals, and canned goods. In the middle of such hardship, these gifts brought both comfort and connection.

“I pray,” she said. “Every day I ask for peace and happiness, for everyone.” During these High Holy Days, Khona is sustained not only by the food The Fellowship provides, but by the emotional strength it brings.

“The Fellowship helps, and so we’re able to live and eat. I don’t even know how I would have survived without it,” she said. “I worked for so long and still get pennies in my retirement. I would have died long ago if it weren’t for The Fellowship.”

Elderly Jews living in the former Soviet Union are pushed below the poverty line with the ongoing war in Ukraine and inflation, resulting in rising costs of food, medicine, and housing. These food boxes made special for the beginning of the High Holy Days provide an essential service and light in the darkness for the elderly at their most vulnerable. Join The Fellowship in support by giving your best gift during these High Holy Days.