A delicious Shavuot tradition has deeper symbolic roots than you might expect.
Meir Panim
More than 50 years after a siege nearly broke Jerusalem, feeding the hungry is still a necessary aspect of the battle for the eternal capital of Israel.
Tair Sassy, the manager of Nir Am, one of Meir Panim’s Youth Centers in Sderot, was brainstorming different ways to celebrate Israel Independence Day when the alarms began to sound.
Irit Levy, 17, remembers the night that she and her friends decided to sleep over at Meir Panim’s Sderot Youth Center. “After four “Tzeva Adom” red alert sirens,” Irit explained, “my friends and I decided it would be safest to spend the night at the youth center; a converted bomb shelter.”
At ten o’clock, Adi instructed all the children in her Jerusalem gan (kindergarten) to take out their aruchat eser (mid-morning meal). Hungry, all the children raced to unzip their tiks (backpacks), remove their lunches and begin eating. All the children, that is, except for Benny.
Walk into Meir Panim’s After-School Youth Center in the Ofakei Or neighborhood of Sderot during the month of Adar, and you will be swept up by joyous singing and dancing.
With weather reports predicting colder than usual temperatures for the following day in Jerusalem, the staff at Meir Panim‘s Jerusalem Restaurant Style Soup Kitchen anticipated an influx of visitors.
Though some people prefer cold temperatures over Israel’s hot summers, the country’s struggling citizens and especially the elderly, find winter a particularly challenging time to live in dignity.
Late November, a group of women from “Mothers With Meaning,” as part of a trip with Masa Israel, visited Meir Panim charity organization’s Dimona branch in southern Israel. The group was so touched by Meir Panim’s good work, as they visited its Holocaust Survivors program, that they decided to arrange a special event for the city’s impoverished and mainstream citizens.
Three years is a long time in the life of a teenager, especially one growing up in the Hamas rocket-ridden southern Israeli city of Sderot. Yet, 17-year-old Netanel Naftelayev has not only survived under adverse conditions, he is one of Sderot’s shining stars.
On December 24, the new Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Amir Yaron was sworn in at Israeli President Reuven Rivlin residence with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in attendance. Through each of their speeches, it became clear that the goals of the Governor and Prime Minister were different from the goals of the… Read more »
There are nearly 800,000 Israeli children living in poverty. Israeli charity organization Meir Panim brings light to the darkness in their lives.
Thanksgiving, this year November 22, was inaugurated in 1621 by the colonial Pilgrims who wanted to show their gratitude for having a productive harvest which provided satisfying meals. Thanksgiving continues to be a day upon which most Americans gather with family and friends for feasting and counting their blessings.
After ten years of debate, Israel has now become the fifth nation in the world to pass a national food rescue law. “The Food Donation Act” protects food donors, non-profit organization, staff and volunteers from criminal and civil liability should donated food cause any negative consequences to the receivers.
World Food Day, October 16, marks 38 years since the initiative to eradicate world hunger was established by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The goal is to end world hunger by 2030 through finding sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty.
