USY Group 2 - Girlfriends of Fallen IDF Soldiers and the Righteous Among the Nations living in Israel

Days with USY groups start early - today started at 7 am - After a youth hostel breakfast (light in my case) we were off to Kiriyat Ono, north of Tel Aviv to meet Phyllis Haimowitz, who started the non-profit to provide support to girlfriends and fiancees of fallen IDF soldiers 12 years ago.  I've told Phyllis' story before and that of her daughter Michal whose boyfriend Avi was killed in Lebanon.  Phyllis' effort to literally save her daughter's life has led to providing therapeutic and other support to over 350 boyfriends and girlfriends of fallen Israeli soldiers from any cause, whether in battle, training of driving accidents or otherwise.  We provided donor-directed support for other things (tuition, other therapies and other necessities ) that Phyllis and Rina provide to the girlfriends.

We then went back to Jerusalem, and after another youth hostel meal (nondescript except the pea soup was good) Danny did his afternoon session about practical mitzvot, and then we heard from one of our youngest Mitzvah heroes, Yael Rosen, who spoke about her work for Atzum providing support and friendship to the Righteous Among the Nations, non Jews who risked their lives, with no personal gain, to save Jews during the Shoah.  Yael speaks knowledgeably and lovingly about the 35 or so remaining righteous still living in Israel and she is a great teacher. Mitzvah Heroes Fund is proud to be an early and regular supporter of this project, paying for individual needs and group get-togethers for the Righteous. The USYers wrote some terrific Rosh HaShanah cards that will go to the clients Yael serves.  We had a great end to the day.

Since I have the freedom of a car, Danny and I drove up to Agripas St for a brief stroll through Machane Yehuda (I finally stopped at the Kingdom of Halva, literally in Hebrew Mamlechet HaChalva) to buy a chunk (chocolate-coffee) and then we went to dinner at Steakiya Hatzot (where we shared one steak dinner with salads).  It was nice, and I had a glass of the House red which was a Binyamina Cabernet to go with the steak;  It was nice and its worth a future visit.

And now I'm writing about all of this to you.  It's 9:30 and its almost bedtime.  Another USY group (4, Micha's group) tomorrow where we will be picking some vegetable with Leket Yisrael (Israel's Largest Food Recovery Network) and going to the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, my first visit there in maybe 3 years.  Very excited, since in addition to missing Judy and Michelle, I also miss our cute dog Waldo, who I don't think is qualified to guide anything.