Chabad Across Israel Mobilizes: Thousands of Emissaries Aid Millions of Jews

by Noa Amouyal – chabad.org

As terrifying sirens began to sound around Israel at 6:30 a.m. on Shabbat morning; as the sound and sights of gunfire and exploding missiles were heard in places under direct attack; and as unconfirmed word of a terrible, unprecedented, terrorist slaughter began to spread through synagogues where Jews were celebrating the usually joyous holiday of Simchat Torah, every one of the more than 1,100 Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries based in almost 300 cities, towns and villages in in every corner of the Holy Land all knew one thing. They had a job to do.

When the smoke began to subside, they learned the horrible truth: Hamas had brutally tortured and murdered what at last count was 1,300 Jewish men, women and children, in their beds, in their homes and on their streets; kidnapped 150, including toddlers and a Holocaust survivor, and taken them to Gaza; and injured some 3,000.

Furiously communicating with their colleagues, Chabad’s vast network of emissaries began operating in collective crisis mode, identifying places where help was most urgently needed. Rabbis began leveraging their connections with police, hospitals and government officials across the country to address the dire needs of the people of Israel.

Within hours, individual efforts coalesced into a massive aid network, and within days an emergency “situation room” was established to lead an all-encompassing program. Ever since, Chabad-Lubavitch of Israel’s United Front program has been on the ground tending to the extraordinarily wide range of humanitarian needs of Israeli civilians and military personnel impacted first by the terrorist attacks, and now by the IDF’s Operation Iron Swords. The effort now includes all 1,100 or so Chabad emissaries, as well as thousands of volunteers from Chabad communities across the country.

The United Front was launched to synchronize and maximize “the extraordinary capabilities of Chabad all over Israel,” said Rabbi Yossef Ahronov, chairman of Chabad Youth Organization, the movement’s umbrella organization in Israel. “Millions of Jews here are waiting for the help of our emissaries. They need moral encouragement; they need help fulfilling mitzvot; they need food and water, toys, clothes and shelter. We had to pivot to this emergency response method of operation.” Their work has evolved into four “fronts:”

The Military Front: Provides spiritual, emotional and physical support to the more than 300,000 reserve soldiers, in addition to the regular military, serving at this moment on the front lines of Gaza; visiting hospitalized soldiers, providing food, drink, socks, toiletries, as well as tefillin, tzitzit and books of Psalms for spiritual protection. Teams visit IDF soldiers on bases and at rally points on the front to ensure morale is high. A grassroots call from soldiers of all backgrounds to be provided with tzitzit has spurred a nationwide tzitzit manufacturing and distribution program.

The Community Front: Families in southern front-line communities, including Sderot and Ashkelon, don’t have access to groceries and pharmacies, and need basic supplies delivered to their shelters. Israelis in many other areas are likewise in shelters and need deliveries as well. Aside from food and medicine, Chabad has been distributing necessary household staples such as light bulbs and batteries, as well as thousands of toys for children. The rabbis and their wives are also providing physical, spiritual and emotional support to trauma victims and families whose homes were damaged by terrorists and enemy fire. Throughout the country, 1,000 tefillin booths have been set up, which in addition to providing a moment to pray, are collecting donated supplies to be shipped to the hardest-hit areas in the south.

The Medical Front supports thousands of wounded and traumatized Israelis and their families; arranging meals and accommodations, providing patients with fresh clothing, and sponsoring professional support and therapy for terror victims. The United Front’s teams have already prepared and distributed tens of thousands of sandwiches, hot meals, and beverages.

Grieving Families Providing support for families of the murdered and fallen soldiers—assistance with funeral arrangements and the shivah; and supporting war widows and orphans with all their material and emotional needs. They are also providing emotional support for the families of hostages currently being held in unimaginably horrific circumstances in Gaza.

This is all on top of the humanitarian work that Colel Chabad, Israel’s largest food security institution, has been doing in front-line communities in the south to the north.

At the helm of the United Front is Rabbi Levi Mendelson of the Chabad Youth Organization.

Mendelson is working around the clock with emissaries, staff and volunteers, to ensure that all of the efforts are running smoothly. And it’s a challenging task, considering the volume and pace of requests that are received day and night. As such, perhaps the most challenging task of the organization is prioritizing all the requests for help.

“We remind everyone we come in contact with that we are all soldiers of G‑d,” explains Rabbi Moni Ender, a spokesman for Chabad in Israel. “That they can be secure in the fact that G‑d is looking after them. We share the uplifting words of the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] with everyone we meet, and we remind them that, with G‑d’s help, the IDF has succeeded in all previous wars and this one will be no exception—that G‑d is looking after us.”

Some of the thousands of requests received in the first week alone require marshaling extensive resources and manpower, like 400 requests for tefillin, three truckloads of food, 700 beds for hospitals and displaced families, 200 armored vests for emissaries in the field who are providing spiritual guidance to combat soldiers, 6,000 toys and 9,000 flashlights.

But many requests are for just one good deed. “We just now got a request to bring tzitzit to a wounded soldier who is the only surviving member of his unit,” Mendelsson says with a sigh. “The requests are never-ending, but we can’t stop answering these calls.”

To pray for the safety of all residents of the Holy Land, it is recommended to read Psalms 20, 22, 69 and 150.

For more information, inspiration and insights on the Gaza War visit Chabad.org’s Israel at War home page, which includes 7 Things You Can Do for Israel Now and instructions on how to Donate to the Israel Emergency Relief Fund.