As Israel experienced its first real downpour of the year, war-weary Ashdod residents, where many residents remain traumatized by the onslaught of rocket attacks, were grateful to have secured a bundle of winter clothes to keep warm and dry. Hundreds of new items were made available when Colel Chabad, the oldest continuous charity in the Holy Land, hosted a free pop-up store to help those in need.
In Southern Israel alone, Colel Chabad fed 50,000 households before the war and in the immediate aftermath was able to deliver 18,000 meals a day to residents of Ofakim, Sderot, Netivot, Ashkelon and Beersheva, where many grocery stores were closed or empty.
Pivoting to emergency mode is par for the course of the charity, which was founded by the first Chabad Rebbe—Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter Rebbe—in 1788. In our generation, under the stewardship of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Colel Chabad has become one of the Jewish world’s most recognized charities.
In war-weary Ashdod, Israel, a free pop-up shop was open to needy residents
