Passover is April 6th - Donate to International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

This message comes from Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, president of International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.  www.ifcj.org.  Passover is quickly arriving.  They need donations to provide 40,000 Passover Food Boxes to impoverished Jews in Russia and Israel.  Please read this Message from Rabbi Eckstein, then visit their website to see how you may be a blessing to impoverished Jews this Passover.

Thomas Cain

It is especially heartbreaking that so many Holocaust survivors are unable to afford basic foods, much less the special items like matzah needed to observe the holy Passover Seder with dignity.

My friend, I am asking you to join our Fill the Pantry Passover food campaign and help The Fellowship deliver 40,000 Passover Food Boxes both in Israel and the former Soviet Union.

With Passover now only days away, I urge you to please make your gift today on behalf of thousands of needy Holocaust survivors like Alexander.  Alexander is an 86-year-old widower who witnessed the murder of his entire family and endured four horrific years in a Nazi work camp. Yet today, Alexander lives all alone in heartbreaking poverty.

When Yael, my daughter, arrived at his tiny apartment to deliver one of our Passover Food Boxes, Alexander broke into tears. “This food package reminds me that I’m not alone, and will truly help me be joyous when I look at the beautiful meal on my table that The Fellowship provided,” he said.  “Thank you for caring about me in my old age. And thank God that there are people and places like The Fellowship. You’re the only ones that care about me anymore.”

By making a gift to our Fill the Pantry Passover food campaign, you can help bring comfort to destitute Holocaust survivors like Alexander.

These dear people have nowhere else to turn to for help, other than to you and me. Please be as generous as you can and thank you for caring.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President

   

PS	Many Holocaust survivors who need our help live in hard-to-reach villages, so please donate today and we will make certain their Passover Food Box reaches them in time to observe the Seder at sundown on April 6th.

Emailing Rescue My Chosen People

All the month of March until Passover, Grace, Faith, Justified Ministry is focusing its attention on Jewish charities that help impoverished Jewish families, worldwide.  The following is a message from Rescue My Chosen People.

Emailing Rescue My Chosen People

Starting in April, 2012, Rescue My Chosen People will be accepting emails from impoverished Jews, worldwide, that need to get in contact with Jewish charities that provide, food, clothing, medicine, shelter, and in some instances, transportation cost to Israel.  If you are an impoverished Jewish family, or person, you may email rescuemychosenpeople@gmail.com.  Your email will be forwarded to the appropriate Jewish charity.  Please state your name, with your needs, and a contact address, such as your email address.  This will help us determine which Jewish charity is most apt to address your needs.

Please note:  All information provided to Rescue My Chosen People will be held in the strictest confidence.  Also, Rescue My Chosen People does not provide or sale your email address to any organization, company, individual, or entities.  However, your email will be forwarded to the Jewish charity most appropriate to address your needs.

Thomas Cain

Impoverished Jews in Former Soviet Union and Israel Need Your Help

This message comes from Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, President of International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.  www.ifcj.org.  They need your help now to fill Passover food boxes to impoverished Jews in the former Soviet Union and Israel.  Please visit their website to see how you may be a blessing to impoverished Jews.

 

Message from Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein:

For the thousands of Jewish families and elderly who will be receiving Passover Food Boxes from dedicated friends like you, our Fill the Pantry Passover food campaign is already a success.

But Passover is now only a few weeks away and there are still desperately hungry people in both Israel and the former Soviet Union who are looking for our help.

I would like to share one moving story of why each Passover Food Box we provide during our Fill the Pantry Passover campaign is so important.

Her name is Irina and she lives in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine with her daughter Nastya.

Right now their “home” is a dilapidated former army barracks where there is no indoor plumbing and the leaky roof makes it terribly cold and damp. They have nowhere else to go. Ever since Irina was laid off from her job, she struggles to provide her daughter with life’s basic necessities.

It broke Irina’s heart to know that because of their extreme poverty, she would not be able to give Nastya a proper Passover celebration. So you can imagine her relief when she learned that The Fellowship was distributing Passover Food Boxes to hungry Jewish families.

“I have no words that can adequately express my gratitude to The Fellowship. Without you, we would not have simple foods to fill our stomachs or the special foods needed to celebrate the Passover Seder,” explained Irina.

Passover begins at sundown on April 6th — that’s less than three weeks away. My friend I am asking you on behalf of hungry families like Irina’s to join us during our Fill the Pantry Passover food campaign to bring joy to their lives and this special holiday celebration.


With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President

Homelessness in the Holy City

Grace, Faith, Justified, Ministry is focusing on Jewish charities for the next few weeks, especially up to Passover.  This article written by Yael Eckstein will touch the heart of every person that reads it. It is not only timely, considering the rising tide against Jews, but the significant importance that Jews, even in the Jerusalem, need your immediate help.  Please read Yael's message and respond to International Fellows of Christians and Jews www.ifcj.org with a generous donation.

Homelessness in the Holy City
by Yael Eckstein

March 22, 2012

Shalom,

The holy city of Jerusalem is known for many different things. The Old City is renowned as the site of the two Jewish temples in ancient times. The ruins that cover this city hold innumerable biblical secrets. Israel’s parliamentary building is based in Jerusalem – and so much more. But one thing that rarely comes to mind when people think about Jerusalem is homelessness, which, unfortunately, is now a bigger problem than ever.

It was shocking for me to learn that in the relatively small city of Jerusalem there are hundreds of homeless people, mainly immigrants, with nowhere to go for much-needed shelter. This winter, the people who run the only homeless shelter in Jerusalem came to The Fellowship desperately begging for help before closes down due to lack of funding.

When I met with Jerusalem municipality leaders recently and asked them what the biggest problem currently facing the city is, I expected to hear about the unstable political situation and fear for terror attacks. Instead, they told me that homelessness is on the rise, and that the government has no way to meet the needs of the homeless given the city’s ever-tightening budget.

With embarrassment and sorrow, these city workers officials told me that the only homeless shelter in Jerusalem is going to have to close within the next month unless The Fellowship can raise the funds to keep it open. “This has been the rainiest winter in 10 years,” one said. “If we don’t keep the shelter open, we will see more situations like what happened to Yohanes Berko in Tel Aviv this past January.” When she said this, my heart sank. Berko was a homeless man in Tel Aviv who froze to death while sleeping on a park bench during a spell of extreme cold. It gets considerable colder in Jerusalem than in Tel Aviv, which leaves homeless people there even more vulnerable. This situation is truly what the Bible refers to as “sakanat nefashot” – life-threatening.

After hearing about this growing problem of homelessness in Jerusalem and the desperate need for shelter, these words from Leviticus 25: 35-36 began to repeat in my mind:

“If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you.”

It was then that I knew The Fellowship needs to step in to help. It is clear to me that God wants us to act now to save the lives of Jerusalem’s homeless.

My friends, open up your hearts and pray to God for the homeless people of Jerusalem who have nowhere to go for warmth and shelter. Give to our Guardians of Israel program which supports shelters and countless other initiatives that ease the suffering of homeless Israelis. Meditate on God’s holy words in the Bible that instruct us how to respond in situations like these. There are hundreds of homeless people living on the streets of Jerusalem who are begging for our help. How will you answer them?

With blessings from the Holy Land,

Impoverished Jews need your help!

This article comes from Rescue My Chosen People at www.rescuemychosenpeople.blogspot.com.

Impoverished Jews need your help!

We all have heard of the recent attack on a Jewish school in France that left a Rabbi and three children dead. They were senselessly murdered in cold blood by an assassin in wait. This despicable cowardly act must not go unpunished. Jews must not cow-tow to this horrific terror.

We that believe in justice must act swiftly against violent crimes against Jewish people. This perpetrator will be brought to justice, as will any person(s) that commits an overt act against G-d’s chosen people.

This is why Rescue My Chosen People is appealing to your generous benevolence to help impoverished Jews this Passover. Charities such as International Fellowship of Christian and Jews www.ifcj.org are reaching out to Impoverished Jews in Russia with Passover food boxes. Without your donations thousands of impoverished Jews will not be able to observe their most sacred religious celebration: Passover.

As the money is available International Fellowship of Christian and Jews assist impoverished Jews with airfare or other means of transportation to migrate to their “Promise Land” Israel. With your help, you can make it possible for impoverished Jews in Russia that desire to travel to Israel a reality.

Please visit www.ifcj.org to see first hand impoverished Jews being snatched from the gutter of hunger and starvation. The Lord has said the Jews (His Chosen People) are the apple-of-His-eye. By your generous donations, you too are the apple-of-His-eye. My heart and spirit goes out to the Jews that are in need of rescuing. So will yours when you visit www.ifcj.org.

Thank you,
Thomas Cain

Rescue My Chosen People is not a part of International Fellowship of Christian and Jews, nor do we directly or indirectly receive any financial compensation from any non-profit organization listed on our blog. Rescue My Chosen People provides information on Jewish charities, so that you, our reader may be able to make a qualified decision on which charity you may wish to support.

Operation Smile

It is not to often that I find myself so impressed with a charitable organization such as this one: Operation Smile. Operation Smile www.operationsmile.org is a group of doctors that go throughout the world performing plastic surgery on children that are born without clefts. Or is some cases they perform plastic surgery on children in war torn countries that have been disfigured. This of course is at no cost to the child’s family.

These marvelous surgeons donate their medical skills and practice absolutely free to indigent or impoverished children around the world. The parents of disfigured children call these “miracle workers” God’s Angels. Truly they are miracle workers. Operation Smile’s surgeons are not only God’s Angels, they are the best plastic surgeons in the world. They come from all nations, backgrounds, culture, and faith.

Without these marvelous surgeons, these disfigured children and their families would be without hope of any kind. Some will even die. You can be a part of this great gift of God by going to www.operationsmile.org and generously donate to this worthy cause. Without you and your generous support, there would be no “miracle workers”, without the surgeons, there would be no Operation Smile, and without you impoverished children around the world requiring this much needed surgery, would be doomed forever. Please become a part of this God-Sent medical team.

Thomas Cain
President – Rescue My Chosen People

Israel Under Attack

This news article come to us from Rabbi Eckstein at www.ifcj.org. Please visit their webstie to see how you may help impoverished Jews in Israel during this crisis.

Thomas Cain

March 15, 2012

Dear Friend of Israel,

To look at southern Israel today, you wouldn’t know that just a few days ago it was a war zone. Between Friday and Monday, terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip launched more than 200 rockets at the region. Since a ceasefire was called several days ago, relative quiet has settled in most of the area, and the number of rockets has dropped sharply (though not ceased entirely). Some schools have reopened, and some people have gone back to their daily routines. While scores of Israelis were injured in the attacks, thankfully – perhaps providentially – none were killed.

Yet it was difficult to find reports on these recent events in the U.S. media; it seems that, for many outlets, the firing of terrorist rockets at Israeli civilians simply isn’t a story. As usual, where stories did appear they positioned Israel’s defensive efforts as aggression. Reports trumpeted the fact that, by some accounts, more than 20 Palestinian terrorists were killed during IDF strikes in Gaza, while Israelis were “merely” injured.

Of course, it is Palestinian terrorists who disregard all rules of war and common decency by launching unprovoked attacks on innocent Israeli civilians. Under such circumstances, it is Israel’s right – indeed, her solemn obligation – to protect her citizens. Certainly, the world should be able to understand that. And yet, many do not.

The low number of Israeli casualties reflects the great efforts Israel makes to protect her people. During the recent round of attacks, the newly deployed Iron Dome missile defense system shot down about 90 percent of the rockets it targeted. The extensive network of bomb shelters the Israeli government has created (many funded by The Fellowship), has saved countless Israeli lives. This is in stark contrast to Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, who cynically manipulate the media by putting their own people in harm’s way.

It is a bitter irony that the world places blame for the Palestinians’ plight on Israel, the one country in the Middle East that has consistently shown it values life and is committed to protecting the innocent and attending to the wounds of all casualties – both Israeli and Palestinian. The conflict this past weekend is but one skirmish in a greater war. But it reveals the profound difference between Israel and the Palestinian terrorists, between a nation that nurtures a culture of life, and a group that revels in death. Recognizing the true nature of Israel’s foes, you can understand why Israel must defend herself — and why she depends on friends like you to stand with her.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President

Urgent Need For Passover Boxes

Grace, Faith, Justified Ministry received an urgent request to post a message from Rescue My Chosen People by Thomas Cain.

Dear Friends there is an urgent need for Passover Food Boxes. Please read Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein's message below. International Fellowship of Christian and Jews are in desperate need of donations to fill 40,000 Passover Food Boxes before the Passover deadline of April 6, 20012. Rescue My Chosen People urge you to do what you are able to help in this crisis. By clicking on Fill the Pantry Passover food campaign below it will take you to their website.

Thomas Cain

Message by Rabbi Eckstein:

With Passover fast approaching, we urgently need your support for our Fill the Pantry Passover food campaign.

Our goal is to provide 40,000 Food Boxes to destitute Jewish children, families and the elderly — including Holocaust survivors, both in Israel and the former Soviet Union — who struggle daily to obtain life's basic necessities, much less the special foods needed to celebrate the Passover Seder meal.

Please take a moment and watch this important video message — then help The Fellowship make a meaningful difference in the lives of these suffering people this Passover season by sending a generous gift to help Fill the Pantry.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

President