17TH OF TAMMUZ & 9TH OF AV

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Help Bring Joy During the Saddest 3 Weeks of the Jewish Year

Every year, the joy of summer is tempered by the ‘Bein Hametzarim’-the mournful ‘Three Weeks’ on the Jewish calendar. Beginning with 17 Tammuz and culminating with the somber Tisha B’Av (9th of Av), Judaism's most painful date in history is marked by countless tragedies. We struggle with the anguish, destruction and loss that characterize this time of year.

We struggle with them, but we don’t lose hope-hope that next year it will be a different story, that next year will be better.

At American Friends of Yad Eliezer/B'ezri we work daily with individuals and families who face the most difficult of situations (especially in this economic climate, one full of soaring prices for food and other basics) yet never give up hope. Some have lost loved ones to illness or terrorism. Others go hungry, living in dismal environments due to circumstances beyond their control. Yet despite their many challenges, they haven't given up hope for a better future. They are grateful they can receive urgent support that helps them pick up the pieces and move on, to offer their children opportunities they themselves will never have.

American Friends of Yad Eliezer/B'ezri's many poverty relief programs provide tens of thousands of families with the help they need to climb out of the cycle of poverty once and for all, and to live productive, meaningful lives. Programs such as our Food Support and Feed a Baby initiatives provide basic food security, and our Emergency fund can get families through a one-time crisis, keeping them from falling into debt they are unable to repay. We also look towards the future, through our Job Training program which helps individuals get back on their feet via education towards gainful employment, so they can provide comfortably for their families. And that's just the beginning...

The Jewish people never give up hope.
At American Friends of Yad Eliezer/B'ezri we live hope, and we have seen its power transform lives.
As the Ninth of Av quickly approaches, please help us continue to bring help and hope to Israel’s neediest. And perhaps this will be the last sorrowful Tisha B’Av.