Community Magazine September 2019

28 Community Magazine Machla Abramovitz Z ahava came into the Yad Ezra V'Shulamit Children's Center in Jerusalem excitedly waving her first-ever paycheck. This entrance of Zahava’s was so different fromwhen she first came to the Center, and her smile said it all. Now working as a saleswoman, themature 18-year-old youngwoman independently supports herself, after having turned her life around. It had been a long, arduous journey for this quiet, but now confident, young woman. No longer was she the timid, insecure four-year-old child who initially walked into the Center clinging to her mother's hand. She was now self-assured, with an air of nobility and a generosity of spirit. That self-confidence was apparent as she proudly donated tzedakah to the Center that served as a home away from home for Zahava for over thirteen years. Within this unassuming building, Zahava received a hot, nutritious meal every day. She received warm clothing for the winter, help with her homework, emotional counseling, but most importantly, loving acceptance, and the skills and encouragement necessary to flourish, both emotionally and spiritually. Coming Full Circle Walking back into the Children’s Center, Zahava gained a new perspective. She was no longer a recipient, but rather, had become a giver. It was now her turn to help to support children suffering the pain of poverty, and to bring full circle her experience of being on the other end when she first came to Yad Ezra V'Shulamit. The staff recalled first meeting Zahava and her mother, a young widow who struggled to provide for her four rambunctious, demanding sons, and a quiet, introverted daughter. At the time, Zahava mother’s challenges were insurmountable. Working every day until 5:00pm, she came home to cook and clean, pay her bills, and spend as much time as possible mothering her children. Zahava's mother simply could not provide for all of her family’s needs. The situation was desperate. Her meager earnings could not provide her family with proper food, let alone clothing and the necessities of life every family requires. Subsequently, Zahava’s mother was afflicted with depression and anxiety. Her situation was not unique. Astonishingly, despite its “start-up nation” reputation, Israel has the highest rate of poverty of any OECD country. According to the 2018 Alternative Poverty Report, some 2.3 million Israelis, one family in five, including over one million children, live below the poverty line. The primary food for over 75% of children in the welfare system is white bread and margarine, which deprives them of the nutrients that are necessary to develop physically, emotionally, and mentally. That's where Yad Ezra V'Shulamit steps in. The non-profit hunger-relief organization empowers thousands of children like Zahava, feeding their bodies and their souls, empowering them to find the inner strength to overcome the stigma of poverty and their family disadvantages, and to finally break the cycle of poverty. Rav Aryeh Lurie Yad Ezra V'Shulamit is the brainchild of Aryeh Lurie. As founder and director, he is determined to do whatever it takes to relieve others of the pangs of hunger and the shame of poverty that he experienced more than 40 years ago growing up in Jerusalem. Rav Aryeh, as his staff respectfully calls him, recalls a typical Shabbat meal of boiled bones, grains, and vegetables, which comprised the typical Sephardic hamin (cholent). There were bones instead of meat, which his mother could not afford to buy. Still, the family looked forward to partaking in this warm, savory meal. Hacham Ovadia Yosef, zt'l , blesses Yad Ezra V’Shulamit founder Aryeh Lurie. We broke the cycle of poverty – From recipient to giver How Yad Ezra V’Shulamit Children’s Center Turned a Child’s Life Around