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By: Frimet Blum

A massive crowd converged on Yerushalayim’s Rechov Baharan this week, with thousands clogging the streets and streaming to Bnos Yerushalayim hall, site of Mesamche Lev’s Sukkos distribution. They came clutching precious coupons and cards, and left laden with cases of meat, poultry, and more.

Bnos Yerushalayim was transformed into a giant butcher emporium, with massive freezers lining the walls and a team of dedicated volunteers assisting the huge crowds. In the days leading up to the distribution, huge trailers unloaded one hundred skids containing many tons of meat and poultry. A cadre of volunteers unloaded the meat and repacked it into individual boxes containing the exact cuts each family pre-ordered.

The distribution was extremely orderly and dignified. Recipients were assisted by volunteers who used a high-tech computer system to locate their orders. They “paid” with Mesamche Lev coupons, or by swiping Mesamche Lev prepaid magnetic strip cards. Thousands of participants also received grocery coupons entitling them to hundreds of shekels in free groceries, redeemable at local stores.

The Israeli distribution assisted some eleven thousand families, including four hundred forty two widows, nearly four thousand orphans, hundreds of Torah scholars, and thousands of other desperately poor families. Many of the families are so poor; they consider meat a rare treat and eat just a bit of chicken on Shabbos. It is not unusual for a family to stretch a single chicken to last four weeks; putting one quarter into the Shabbos soup for the entire family to share, and freezing the remainder.

Mesamche Lev’s distribution gives new life to the old expression, “a chicken in every pot.” The organization’s founder, Harav Zalman Ashkenazi, zatzal, believed that every child should have meat for Yom Tov – and insisted on distributing it directly to families, instead of giving them money, which would in all likelihood be spent on necessities such as rent and utilities. Reb Zalman, zatzal, also placed a major emphasis on preserving the dignity of recipients. That is why Mesamche Lev goes to such lengths to ensure that the distribution is orderly and pleasant.

Thanks to their efforts, there will be plenty of meat and chicken for the entire holiday. Tens of thousands of children are already anticipating Yom Tov meals that will allow them to eat full portions, and leave the table sated and happy. At the distribution, a spirit of joy and excitement filled the air as children helped wheel strollers and shopping carts laden with precious cargo.

“Imma said I can have a whole schnitzel at the seudah,” one wide-eyed little girl told her younger brother. “I peeked in the box. The whole thing is full to the top. You’ll have, too.” The excitement was not reserved for children. The adults were effusive in their thanks. One woman called the office to let the administration know just what the chalukah meant to her.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” she said. “My daughter is getting married right after Sukkos, and I am making Shabbos sheva brachos in my house. I was under tremendous pressure, because I didn’t know how I was going to be able to scratch together food for the meals, but now I have chicken!” She told Mesamche Lev that she had taken some meat and a few chickens for Yom Tov, and put away the rest for the simcha.

“I can’t tell you what this means for me,” she said. “You made our Yom Tov, and you are helping me make a simcha with joy.”

The meat distribution was one part of a massive Chodesh Tishrei effort to alleviate poverty and bring joy to thousands in need. It came on the heels of a holiday check distribution that reached over six hundred widows in Eretz Yisroel and the United States. Four hundred forty two Israeli widows and one hundred eighty five American widows received generous checks that eased the considerable burden of preparing for Yom Tov alone.

At the same time that Mesamche Lev distributed meat, poultry, groceries, and funds for Sukkos, the organization began paying for its mega Pesach distribution. Mesamche Lev already made an advance deposit of a quarter of a million dollars to shoe companies which will deliver shoes for forty two thousand children, and is in contact with six matzah bakeries to finalize arrangements to sell one hundred thousand pounds of matzah at less than half price in both Eretz Yisroel and the US.

The Tishrei distribution was sponsored by generous donors from the United States, UK, Europe, and beyond who wished to take part in this massive effort to bring simchas Yom Tov to their brethren in Eretz Yisroel. Many donors purchased coupons sponsoring meat for one or more families; fulfilling their obligation to provide tzorchei Yom Tov to the poor. Others had the great zechus of contributing larger amounts and helping more families. The donors included many former talmidim who learned in Eretz Yisroel and witnessed both the grinding poverty and Mesamche Lev’s efforts to alleviate it.

“In America, you don’t see this poverty,” said one donor. “We used to visit families that literally had nothing. Half a chicken wing was considered a normal portion.” He expressed his joy at being able to help.

“I picture the kids getting a real portion, and I can just imagine how excited it makes them. I feel like I’m really giving them something.” The sentiment is shared by the thousands of donors who fulfilled their obligation of helping the poor with their holiday needs, by donating to Mesamche Lev.

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