A Holocaust Survivor’s Hope

Sarah, 80, lives alone in a public housing compound in the city of Dimona, Israel. Her apartment is tiny, with only one room and barely any furniture.

Sarah doesn’t talk much about the Holocaust, but when asked to describe those years in Romania, she only says one word to describe how she felt: “Miserable!” When the war started, her father was taken by the Nazis, and never returned. Sarah, her mother, and brother managed to survive, but they had to hide their identity as Jews.

“We were all alone, no father, just my poor mother trying to keep us alive,” Sarah recalled. They had no food and no clothing for the winter. “My mother begged a local Christian farmer for some pigskin to sew shoes for me and my little brother so our feet wouldn’t freeze.”

The painful memories of the past still bother Sarah today, but she is proud of how her life has turned out. She finally made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) and now has a growing family. “I have three sons living in Israel and ten grandkids,” she said. “We are so blessed to live in a country where Jews can walk on the streets with kippot [skullcaps] and prayer shawls proudly and without fear.”

Sadly, though, her husband passed away years ago, and she has lived in persistent poverty ever since. This is why The Fellowship provides Sarah with monthly food packages thanks to our High Holy Days Outreach. The packages are delivered right to her door.

“I cannot thank The Fellowship enough for the food and for the love they have shown me,” Sarah explained. “I went years without eating chicken or fish because I had no money for such luxuries. Now, with the food baskets I receive from The Fellowship, I can even celebrate the upcoming Jewish holidays, like Rosh Hashanah, with dignity – and with fish and chicken on my dining table!”

Please help destitute Holocaust survivors like Sarah, as well as other suffering elderly Jews throughout Israel and the former Soviet Union, celebrate the High Holy Days with joy dignity.

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