On Atara Goldstein’s kitchen calendar, March 18 is circled in bright red. Weeks before that date, her children kept checking the calendar in anticipation of an event of the year for their family; the Mesamche Lev shoe distribution. When the date finally arrived, their excitement was palpable. Atara and her eleven children snaked their way through the aisles, chose from a fantastic selection of styles, and walked out all smiles. Atara “paid” for the shoes with Mesamche Lev coupons. She was back at the tent a week later for matzah, meat, and more.

Atara is one of close to a hundred thousand people who participated in Mesamche Lev’s Pesach programs this year. Families from the entire Eretz Yisroel, including four hundred twenty four widows with over three thousand orphans, took part. That number includes fifty more widows and several hundred more orphans than last year – a dramatic increase.
The participants used Mesamche Lev shoe coupons and meat coupons, as well as special preloaded magnetic strip cards. The coupons and cards entitled their bearers to shoes for their children, and

Pesach food including meat, poultry, groceries, and subsidized matzah and dairy products.
The distribution has become part of the pre-Pesach landscape in Eretz Yisroel, with families across the country considering it their one stop Pesach “shopping center.” One first grade teacher, Shifra K., asked her students to draw pictures of their families’ Pesach preparations. She couldn’t understand why three little girls drew pictures of tents. The children were quick to explain.

“I’m going to the tent to get shoes,” one little girl explained. “My Ima said there will be a lot of shoes and a lot of children.” Another child said, “We’re getting everything in the tent. My mother is going with a big shopping cart and there’s going to be matzah and meat and - and everything!” The children were barely the only ones to be excited about the distribution. One recently widowed woman called to thank us after she received her coupons.
“I thought we’d have to scrimp on Pesach, but now I see that we’ll have everything. I can’t tell you what that means to me,” she said.

Shoes, shoes, shoes
The weeks-long event kicked off with the Yerushalayim shoe distribution – an operation so mind-boggling; no description can possibly do it justice. During the week it took place, forty two thousand children and their parents filed through the massive tent. There were enough children to fill eight hundred buses. Amazingly, every child walked out with beautiful shoes; with most being in and out of the tent fairly quickly.
“The wait was shorter than in the stores,” one woman said. “I came with nine children, and we were in and out in an hour.” She also appreciated that her children didn’t realize that she was getting charity.
“I went to the counter and ‘paid’ with my Mesamche Lev card. I felt like a real customer,” she said.

Shoes for Beit Shemesh
After the Yerushalayim shoe event, the shoe distribution moved to Beit Shemesh, where thousands of children from the city and from neighboring Beitar received new shoes on Monday and Tuesday, March 23-24. Although some residents of the area have always participated in the main Yerushalayim event, since last year Mesamche Lev has arranged for a separate shoe distribution to serve a larger percentage of the community.

The vast majority of Mesamche Lev recipients in Beit Shemesh and Beitar are Torah families. Many are American olim who are being supported by their parents in the US, yet still struggle to provide for their families.

“My mother sends the kids clothes from time to time, but she has no idea how much we struggle,” said one avreich. “My six year old son’s shoes were so torn; we kept putting duct tape on the sole. He got new ones now, and he’s absolutely thrilled.”

“The funniest thing was when my nephew from New York came to Eretz Yisroel wearing the same shoes as my son. He got them in Boro Park for over seventy dollars, and my kid got them from Mesamche Lev!”

Meat for Yom Tov
The next stage of the distribution took place last Wednesday, when the colossal tent was transformed into a giant meat market. Giant tractor trailers unloaded skid after skid of meat and poultry, and dedicated volunteers packaged the meat into individual boxes, based on orders placed by each family. The boxes were coded, labeled, and placed in industrial freezers to await pickup. Like the shoes, the meat was “paid” for with Mesamche Lev coupons sponsored by donors around the world.

The meat distribution was a major cause for celebration. In many homes, the only time the children taste meat is when they get it from Mesamche Lev. When they do buy poultry, many families split a single chicken into quarters and freeze it to use over four weeks; with each child getting just a tiny sliver l’kavod Shabbos. The meat distribution ensured that the families will eat well on Pesach.

That is a crucial point. During the year, poor families subsist on cheap food like bread, halvah, and beans. On Pesach, they can’t cut corners. That is why it is so critical that they have food, including meat. Meat is specifically important, because the Talmud says, ein simcha ela b’basar – there is no joy without meat. Thousands of families in Eretz Yisroel will have simchas Yom Tov, thanks to Mesamche Lev.

Yachatz!

“My children won’t go hungry!”
When the last box of meat was cleared, the tent was prepared for its final role in the distribution – the matzah event. The tent was stacked high with thousands of matzah boxes from the most mehudar bakeries, including Komemius and Auerbach. The price was split, with Mesamche Lev subsidizing more than half of the 200 shekel cost per kilo; selling matzah for just 95 shekels. The matzah distribution was a great relief to families that can’t afford the astronomical price of lechem oni.
“I calculated exactly how much I would need for the kezaysim and for lechem mishna at each seudah,” one unemployed father of seven told Mesamche Lev. “I felt bad about rationing how much my children could eat, but at full price, I thought there was no choice. I can’t bless you enough for letting me buy it this cheap. Now my children won’t go hungry!”

Say cheese!
Mesamche Lev families have still more to smile about. As in the past two years, the organization offered subsidized dairy products at special distributions in Shomrei Emunim, Ezras Torah, and Beit Shemesh. Giant Tnuva trailers unloaded skids of milk, leben, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, butter, and more; which were sold for a fraction of the retail cost. The dairy products were welcomed with much

“Leben is a real treat for my children,” says Yitzchok Weiss*, a Yerushalmi avreich. “One of my children told me he can’t decide between chocolate and strawberry leben. I told him he could have both!” His wife Leah adds that the dairy products will make a huge difference to her.

“I find serving breakfast on Pesach to be a huge challenge. Matzah is too expensive, and there’s really not much else. This year the kids will eat milchigs.”

Groceries, checks, and more
Many families also received grocery coupons redeemable for Pesach necessities. The coupons allowed them to buy baby formula, diapers, and staples such as potato starch, sugar, and fruits and vegetables. The coupons are in addition to the generous checks given to hundreds of widows, to allow them to buy holiday necessities such as new clothing, robes, house wares, or anything else they might need.

“Mesamche Lev is taking great care of us this Pesach,” one widow said. “We will not lack for anything.”

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