For Holocaust survivors in Israel, Passover has always carried the additional weight that comes with a lifetime of remembering. Remembering Jewish suffering, perseverance, and finally, deliverance, has always carried a particular weight for people who lived through their own.
This year, with sirens sounding at all hours of the night, families scattered across the country and the diaspora, the holiday arrives carrying something heavier still.
Some cities have seen over 100 alerts in a single day, and because of the danger and fear, the elderly, many of whom live alone, have stopped going out entirely.
"People are scared to leave their homes," said Mendi Blau, director of operations for Colel Chabad in Israel. "The system they relied on has basically collapsed. Some of them had someone taking care of them and coming for a few hours a day cooking for them too, but not now.”
For an organization that has spent years building relationships with Israel's most vulnerable, the warning signs were familiar. As soon as the war began, the team at Colel Chabad began calling the survivors on their lists - nearly 30,000 Holocaust survivors living below the poverty line, with nothing but social security for income - and found thousands who were struggling to get basic meals.
Immediately the team worked to get food deliveries out, and now, almost a month into the war, about 2,000 volunteers are going door to door, packages in hand. But they don't just leave the boxes at the door.
"They check in," Blau said. "If someone needs medicine, groceries, anything - we help arrange it."
That human presence, the companionship Colel Chabad offers, is as important as anything inside the package.
"Just the smile on people's faces, just showing up," Menachem Traxler, director of Pantry Packers, said.
"Before you say anything or give anything. The fact that you thought to come, took time out of your schedule, to come to their home - the light that it brings is rewarding beyond description."
This year, more people than usual are looking for somewhere to go for the Seder. Families who were supposed to visit haven't come. People who wouldn't normally reach out are calling.
"The biggest issue is loneliness," Blau said. "Many of them have no family, no one to help them."
Beyond providing these survivors with a complete meal for the Seder - already an impressive labor of love in and of itself - Blau and his team have begun working to help ensure people can enjoy Seder safely.
“This is a make-or-break challenge, because in the beginning, everybody thought, the war was supposed to be over by Pesach,” Blau said, explaining that his team has collaborated with local governments to convert safe day centers and parking lots into shelters where the elderly can spend their nights safe from Iranian attacks.
Behind the phone calls and the packed boxes is an organization with roots stretching back further than the State of Israel itself. Colel Chabad, and its food security arm, Kol HaChesed, was established in 1788 by the Alter Rebbe, making it the oldest continuously operating Jewish charity in the world. More than two centuries later, its mission remains unchanged: to reach Israel's neediest, wherever they are.
The groundwork for an effort this size doesn't materialize overnight. Colel Chabad maintains ongoing partnerships with Israel's Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry and operates a year-round food card program.
“These are Holocaust survivors, elderly that we are in touch with throughout the year, all the time,” Zalman Duchman said.
“We don't wait for them to reach out to us; we reach out to make sure they have what they need.”
For many of the survivors on their list, the organization's volunteers are not just a seasonal presence. In some cases, they are the only ones calling at all.
For those who want to be part of the effort, Colel Chabad has made the entry point simple.
Through their initiative in partnership with Pantry Packers, the organization is asking people to, simply put, Pack a Seder.
The premise is straightforward: $36 covers the complete cost of one survivor's Seder package. No minimum, no maximum. The idea is accessibility; a teenager’s allowance or a CEO can give the same amount and make a difference.
"It's not something that's only for big givers or small givers," said Menachem Traxler, director of Pantry Packers. "Everybody can take part and give at any level they're able to."
Donations can be made at PackASeder.com
Written in collaboration with Colel Chabad