Keren "Ki Avi Ve'Imi Azavuni" Mishpachat Fisher – Keren No. 125

“Ki Avi Ve’Imi Azavuni” Five Children Left Without a Father or MotherA heartbreaking tragedy has shaken the community of Kiryat Ye’arim (Telz Stone). The Fisher family, well known in the community, has endured an unimaginable loss. Rabbi Yaniv Fisher z”l passed away at just fifty years old following a brief illness—only two and a half years after the passing of his wife. Five children have now been left without either a father or a mother. The youngest is only eleven years old. For these children, this is a tragedy they have already lived through once. Just two and a half years ago, they sat shiva in this very home for their mother. Before they had even had the chance to fully recover from that devastating loss, they were once again standing beside an open grave—this time saying goodbye to their father. And this time, there is no parent waiting for them at home. No mother. No father. No parent to welcome those who come to comfort them. No one to make sure they have eaten at the end of a long day. No parent who will still be there after the visitors leave and the door closes. The words of Tehillim, “Ki avi ve’imi azavuni”—“For my father and my mother have forsaken me”—have taken on a painfully literal meaning in the Fisher home. Only one of the five siblings has already established a home of his own. The others are still young. The youngest, just eleven years old, has lost both parents within two and a half years. Who will make sure he has what he needs for Yom Tov? Who will stand beside him as he reaches the milestones of his life? Who will guide and support these children as they grow? And when the day comes for each of them to stand beneath the chuppah, who will help bring them there? Rosh Hashanah is only weeks away. For the first time, the Fisher children will sit at the Yom Tov table without either of their parents. Then will come Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah—each Yom Tov bringing with it memories of the home and family they once knew. Their older brother, the only sibling who has already married, is himself still a young man building his own home. The responsibility of supporting an entire family cannot fall upon the shoulders of one young couple. The Fisher home in Telz Stone has been left without its parents, without its breadwinner, and without the support these children depended upon. This is where Klal Yisrael must step in. Children who have lost both their father and their mother are not the responsibility of one family alone. They are the responsibility of all of us. HaKadosh Baruch Hu is called “Avi Yesomim” — “the Father of orphans.” Few opportunities are as precious as the opportunity to stand beside a yasom, to ease his burden and to ensure that despite everything he has lost, he will not be left alone. Especially now, during the days of Elul as we approach the Yemei HaDin, we have an extraordinary opportunity to perform this tremendous mitzvah. Kupat Tzedakah Telz Stone has established a special fund for the five Fisher orphans. The fund will help provide the stability and support they desperately need—to maintain their home, to meet their daily needs, to allow them to continue their education and their lives, and, with Hashem’s help, to help them reach the chuppah when that day comes. They have already lost more than any child should ever have to lose. We cannot replace their father. We cannot replace their mother. But we can make sure they are not left to face the future alone. Klal Yisrael does not abandon its orphans. Please open your heart and help the five Fisher orphans today. Every contribution, large or small, tells these children one thing: You are not alone. Klal Yisrael is with you.