The axiom, “If there’s room in the heart, there’s room in the home” couldn't be more appropriate
Thousands of years ago, Avraham Avinu flung his doors open wide for passersby in need of a home. The millennia that have passed since then haven’t dulled that limitless hospitality — Avraham’s descendants have made it a national endeavor, especially during these days when entire towns in Israel’s south and north have been evacuated.
Jerusalem’s Ramat Eshkol neighborhood is one shining example. It began when three unfamiliar faces showed up in shul one morning. The shul’s members introduced themselves and the newcomers explained that they were from the south and were in desperate need of basic necessities. Within moments, they had the necessary funds to purchase whatever they needed. But the experience brought to light the desperate plight of evacuees, many left without a home. So a core group of women got together and advertised an event to be held for evacuees, expecting maybe ten women to show up; in the end, some 50 did.
Realizing the sheer number of evacuees left without shelter, the women founded an organization called “Mikol Halev,” and the axiom, “If there’s room in the heart, there’s room in the home” couldn’t be more appropriate. This grassroots organization banded together with local real estate agents and succeeded in locating 80 vacant apartments in Ramat Eshkol and the surrounding neighborhoods whose owners happily consented to allow for the use of an evacuated family, and they’ve been spreading the word to the many Americans abroad who own apartments in Eretz Yisrael. Donors send furniture, high school girls buy groceries, Shabbos food is prepared by volunteers, and efforts are made to enroll the children in local schools. The group has also been facilitating activities for children, helping them find respite from the horrors they’ve experienced in recent weeks.
And as we open our homes, may Hashem open His, allowing all of Klal Yisrael access into the Bayis Hagadol V’Hakadosh.
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