While Jews around the world gather together as families to celebrate the Biblical feast of Passover, some soldiers in the IDF are alone and far away from their families. With your help, Israel365 can bring a little bit of holiday joy to these brave men and women of Israel’s armed forces. 

Israel is blessed with a wave of young people who made aliyah alone, leaving their families behind, in order to serve in the IDF. Referred to as ‘lone soldiers,’ it is estimated that there are about 7,000 such young men and women currently serving in the IDF.  As they are highly motivated, about 40% serve in combat units. 

But they have no immediate family in Israel to support them and when on leave, many of them struggle with basic needs that a family in Israel would normally solve. In addition, isolation is a major problem for many lone soldiers. It is for this reason that last month, Israel365 dedicated a center for lone soldiers. Rabbi Tuly Weisz explained that the Israel365 Lone Soldier Center serves a specific group of lone soldiers who, in addition to their army duties, are learning in a yeshiva environment where they continue their religious studies in depth. 

“The Israel365 Lone Soldier Center is designed to enable them to continue their studies and their prayers despite the special challenges facing them,” Rabbi Weisz said. 

This loneliness is especially felt during the Passover holiday season when most families are together with four cups of wine and other food symbolic of the holiday. Since these lone soldiers will be separate from their families, Israel365 is sponsoring its first annual Passover Seder.

“When the Temples stood in Jerusalem, Jews would all gather in Jerusalem, separating into small groups to eat the Passover lamb together,” Rabbi Weisz said. “The feast is a time for multiple generations to gather and tell the story, creating a living chain that bears witness to God’s miraculous redemption of the Children of Israel.”

You can help by sponsoring a Passover seder for a lone soldier by clicking below.