What is a ‘lone soldier?”
Lone soldiers are either orphans, or special young men who choose to come from all over the world to Israel to serve in the IDF, without a family to go home to at the end of a long day or deployment. They do not have the option of returning home to their parents after seeing the horrors of war, or living in danger defending the Jewish people. They often live instead in modest group homes, which can never compare to the nurturing of a true home environment.
One special and holy soul in particular goes out of his way to make sure that these young men feel at home and supported – The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Rav Aryeh Stern. Rav Stern treats the lone soldiers as though they are his very own sons. He arranges their shabbos meals, gives shiurim, helps them buys things for their houses, and even visits & brings them food.
The winter in Israel can be harsh, and proper heating & food are expensive. Rav Stern needs our help to raise $20,000 so that these lone soldiers can have the essentials this winter.
CLICK HERE TO HELP KEEP THESE SOLDIERS WARM
So, ask yourself — with the sacrifices these soldiers are making, without the support of their families, do they not deserve something in return?
Please don’t leave them out in the cold this winter. Give what you can.
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One Response
About 20 years ago I was a lone soldier. It was really, really lonely. Sometimes I would spend Shabbos at Beit HaChayal near the Knesset. It had decent dorm rooms, decent institutional food, but it felt really lonely. On Friday night I would head off in search of a shul and then hang out after davening waiting for someone to invite me to a seudah. There was no Rav Stern back then. I had an “adopted family” at a religious kibbutz way up in the North, and they were very nice to me, but I felt like an outsider there on the kibbutz too.