Many poor families struggle to marry off their children, but nowhere is the situation as dire as it is for orphaned families. In addition to their devastating poverty, they also lack the traditional parental support of borrowing and raising the funds needed. It has even reached a point where some young adults and their surviving parents push off listening to shidduch suggestions because they can’t even begin to think of covering the costs.

Enter Rabbi Shisha of Tov V’Chesed, who this predicament gave no rest. The tearful pleas for help made him determined to solve this conundrum once and for all – and solve it right.

An ingenious and forward-thinking plan was hatched by Rabbi Shisha and immediately set into motion. Without fanfare and with the quiet support of generous donors, construction began on two magnificent wedding halls built side by side in the city of Beit Shemesh. Recently completed, each hall serves and presents as a regular hall but there is a twist: only one wedding is paid for by the family. The profits are then used to cover all expenses of the second wedding: hall, caterer, musician, florist, photographer etc. With both halls being interchangeable, no visitor can know which wedding is being held free of charge!

It is expected that this ingenious project will cover approximately 150 weddings every year. For the rest of the weddings, Simcha Fund works with generous mechutanim sponsor a wedding night of an orphan at the same time as they marry off a child of their own. Additionally, chosson and kallahs around the world can raise the necessary $8,000 from friends and family during their time of simcha. This brings about HKB”H’s incredible guarantee that those who bring joy to His children will see simcha by their own!

The magnificent halls are already in use this winter. Every night, the tearful chuppah is followed by the jubilant sounds of simchas chosson v’kallah, all enjoyed by the family with dignity and complete peace of mind!

A number of leading Rebbes and Gedolim who are intimately familiar with the chesed efforts of Rabbi Shisha and his group have visited the new space in the early months to put up a mezuzah and make a L’chaim, sharing warmest hatzlacha wishes for this paradigm-shifting venture.

Despite the difficulties of travelling to and from Israel, some of the generous donors who contributed large sums to the project came to Israel to witness firsthand the fruits of their labor and see the world of chesed they had a hand in building. As they toured the impressive facility, they were overwhelmed with emotion realizing that this gift will keep on giving for years and decades to come.

For his part, Rabbi Shisha insists that he is just the messenger helping serve the orphaned children in our nation. “The credit goes to our amazing team and the kindhearted Yidden who made it all possible,” he remarked.

The time of marriage is a great milestone for yesomim who have suffered through a difficult childhood and Buneinu makes sure to celebrate it together with them.

Recently, a sheva brachos was held for a boy who has been orphaned for 22 years, since he was only 4 months old!
Buneinu and Simcha Fund have been at his side throughout and joined him in this simchas chosson v’kallah.

The chesed activities of Tov V’Chesed have become an attraction in the world of Chinuch, and the talmidim of Sha’alvim stopped by on a recent trip to Yerushalayim to get a closer look at how chesed should be performed.

They were joined by their mashgiach, Rav Ezra Shapiro Shlit”a, a longtime supporter of Tov V’Chesed’s crucial activities.

On the night after Asarah B’Teves the growing Buneinu and Bnoseinu teams from around Israel gathered to discuss their important work and how they can all provide the most for the children who rely on them for support. 
 

The staff sat well into the night, with productive and inspiring results.

Chanuka at Tov V’Chesed is always a highlight, and this year the orphaned children enjoyed a number of exclusive visits to leading Rebbes and Gedolim.

Tov V’Chesed also provided Chanuka essentials to their needy families and arranged events to bring the light of Chanuka to their darkened homes. 

Netanya – It has been an especially difficult two years for yesomos in Israel, with school closures, lockdowns, tragedies and economic difficulties hitting close to home. But all that was put aside when the girls gathered for a special Shabbos Bnoseinu attended by 400 girls for all across Israel.

The excitement had begun building weeks prior as the children started preparing for their songs, performances and programs. On Friday morning, buses and vans left cities throughout the country to bring the girls to a resort where they were welcomed like the royal bnos melachim they are. Their Bnoseinu mentors awaited them and invited them to let go of their worries and enter a space of joy, healing and inspiration. Jam-packed programming filled their schedule throughout and as one girl commented, “I haven’t smiled so much in the entire 3 years since my mother was niftar!”

A number of girls, many of them who are not newly orphaned, joined for the first time after they and their mothers heard from others about the tremendous chizuk the participants gather from these special Shabbatons. They were not left disappointed, as for 36 hours they were uplifted and inspired to overcome life’s challenges, heading home with wide smiles and full hearts. The bond between the girls and the Bnoseinu team also grew stronger, helping set the groundwork for relationships that will help mold the future mothers of Klal Yisroel.

Netanya – It was a Shabbos to remember as the boys from Buneinu, many of them fresh yesomim from the recent difficult periods, gathered for an uplifting getaway at a beautiful resort. Throughout the Shabbaton, the impressionable young yesomim received constant encouragement and chizuk, which this year included special personal letters that Boneinu gathered from family, friends or Rebbes of each boy expressing how much they love and appreciate them.

Because many of the boys lack the opportunities to experience regular childhood joys, the Buneinu team put in tremendous efforts to provide them with non-stop treats, lavish meals and Shabbos nosh, as well as entertainment and games. From the Friday to’amehu and entertainment until the Motzei Shabbos melaveh malka in high spirits, the positive energy was continuous throughout.

Of course, all this took a back seat to the deep chizuk and mentorship that punctuated this beautiful retreat. The elevated singing on Friday night, the inspiring symposium where children opened up with everything that is on their hearts, the tearful kumizts at shalosh seudos, the emotional siyum mishnayis that the boys learned in memory of their parents, and the chizuk speeches and words of encouragement were just some of the many events catering to this higher purpose. As the experts on hand shared, the impact of this Shabbos will pay dividends for months, and even years, ahead!

Thousands enjoyed a festive month of Tishrei with the support of Tov V’Chesed.

The organization’s massive food distribution saw 2 million dollars worth of Yom Tov food hand delivered to the homes of the widowed, orphaned, and poor with dignity.

A record ten thousand families benefited from this weeks long initiative across Israel.

Beit Shemesh – On the second night of Chol Hamoed Sukkos, a festive Simchas Beis Hashoeva and Leil Shishi gathering was held for the yesomim and yesomos of Buneinu and Bnoseinu. The event also served as the grand opening of a space that is already revolutionizing the world of chesed.

The big night was hosted in the magnificent new Tov V’Chesed hall called Ulamei Hakramim, a center with two wedding halls, one of which will use the proceeds of the other to marry off orphans completely free of charge!

A project that has been years in the making, Ulamei Hakramim is the brainchild of Tov V’Chesed founder and renowned ba’al chesed Reb Yaakov Eliezer Shisha. After years of paying for the wedding nights of over 1,000 orphaned chasanim and kallos, he gathered support from some of Klal Yisroel’s biggest donors to make this dream a reality. It is expected to host over 150 wedding nights annually, with all expenses paid for in full.

It was appropriate then that this place of simcha for orphans began with the pure simcha of young yesomim and yesomos enjoying their Chol Hamoed. The singing and dancing late into the night was joined by leading performers, singers and musicians, as well as prominent personalities in the community who wanted to be part of this momentous occasion. 

The renowned mashpia Harav Meilich Biderman Shlit”a came by to dance with the young children, as did other Rabbanim. As part of the program, the children also partook in a passionate kumzits that split ears – and surely the gates of heaven. 

The elevated simcha that was in the air on this special night served as the perfect launching for a place that will deliver unlimited simcha in the years and decades to come. Mazel Tov!

New clothing has become an essential part of the Yom Tov season for most children, but the yesomim from Buneinu and Bnoseinu unfortunately come from households where such expenses are unaffordable. A dedicated fund was founded to help outfit the children so that they don’t further suffer by being different than their peers.

This season, a group of volunteering women from the community undertook to raise the money necessary to provide the children with new clothing. To protect their dignity, each child received a gift card that could be used at a number of prominent retailers to shop to their heart’s content. The initiative was marked with success and ensured that no yasom or yesomah had to go to shul feeling inferior during the Yamim Noraim and days of Sukkos.

Yerushalayim – The call came in late on Thursday evening. An orphaned girl from Bnoseinu was about to get engaged and her family did not have where to accommodate her lechayim. Not knowing where where to turn, she called her Bnoseinu family for help.

The staff instantly mobilized to host the big moment within the warm confines of the Bnoseinu center. As it was Thursday evening, the center still needed to be cleaned up from the weekly Shabbos cooking that the girls here performed only hours before. The team quickly began preparing the rooms and transforming the place into a temporary simcha hall.

It was well after one in the morning when the young, soon-to-be chosson and kallah entered the center to elegantly set tables, beautiful decor, and the warm welcome of the Bnoseinu family. After saying lechayim and wishing Mazel Tov, the songs of simcha rang off deep into the summer night.

Meron – The crushing news hit Klal Yisroel like a ton of bricks. Within a short time, the death toll hit an unfathomable 45 of our brothers R”L. But as the bodies were identified at Israel’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the gut-wrenching job of informing families that they will never see their father or brother again required those with great skill and expertise. 

The difficulty of the task was only magnified when young children were involved. Who will tell them that Tatty was taken from them and that their lives will never be the same?

Enter Rabbi Meir Aker, Director of Buneinu. As part of the Tov V’Chesed network led by Rabbi Yaakov Eliezer Shisha, he and the team at Buneinu and Bnoseinu serve the emotional needs of orphaned children in Israel in many ways. Among their responsibilities is sharing tragic news with young children and guiding them through the difficult hours and days. Rabbi Aker sadly received lots of additional experience during Israel’s winter Coronavirus surge, which claimed the lives of numerous young parents.

As soon as the enormity of the tragedy became clear, members of the ZAKA group contacted Rabbi Shisha to come down to their command center where many families were anxiously waiting for word on their father or brother. Some of the individuals were already confirmed dead R”L but word had to be passed along to the families delicately. Rabbi Shisha and his team skillfully handled this agonizing task and coordinated to update the families who were already well asleep, unaware of the news awaiting them in the morning.

In the following hours, Rabbi Shisha and Rabbi Aker set up command in Tov V’Chesed’s Meron headquarters that was originally outfitted to host the streams of Buneinu members visiting Meron. The heartbreaking work continued until Shabbos, and resumed as soon as Shabbos was over. Some children had questions, others wanted to know what pesukim or tefilos to say, and many tearfully asked who would look after them. With his gentle demeanor and chinuch expertise Rabbi Aker walked them through what it means, what to expect, and assured them that they are not alone.

At the request of some of the traumatized yesomim who had visited Miron, the Tov V’Chesed staff remained locally over Shabbos and were joined by the renowned mashpia Rabbi Elimelech Biderman Shlit”a who met with the team Friday night to hear more about each of the families and how they are handling the tragedy. He later publicly shared how inspired he was by the strength and emunah of Klal Yisroel during this difficult period.

In the ensuing days, Rabbi Shisha, who leads the organization and oversees all efforts, prepared to have Buneinu and Bnoseinu staff visit the homes of the victims and be mechazek the almanah and young orphans, as well as siblings of those who passed. Additional therapists and social workers were hired so that the children have access to the help they need.

On Tuesday after the tragedy, Rabbi Shisha said, “We’ve been working around the clock and none of us have had much sleep. It has been very difficult to be at the front row and to witness such incredible pain, but this is our achrayus right now.”

Rabbi Shisha shared how the children already feel like part of the Buneinu family, and some of them have already taken time away from shiva to visit the acclaimed Buneinu Center where yesomim spend time at all hours, receiving nourishment, encouragement, and support. One group of brothers had heard that the center has hundreds of comic books, and asked if they can come by to borrow some – a request that was happily granted.

As the tragic news fades from the headlines, the organization will take the new families under its wings, providing therapy and social support for the children, and sending Shabbos essentials to almanos each week. “I wish we never had to deal with such tragedies, but if this is the ratzon Hashem, it is up to all of us to help ease their pain. May it be a zchus for our entire nation,” concludes Rabbi Shisha.

To take part in supporting these the relief efforts,
please contact Tov V’Chesed at 845-517-0656 or email Info@tovvchesed.com