Moshav Yad Rambam in Israel was created almost entirely by Morrocan immigrants in 1955. The Moroccan
Jewish communities have been established since the first Beis Hamikdosh, producing some of our nations
greatest scholars like R’Yitzchok Alfasi and Maimonides.

Sadly, a mere two generations since coming to Israel, many of these Jews are only marginally affiliated. Many
have barely any connection to the cherished heritage that their ancestors held so dear. Together, we can and
will bring them back!

Mishmar Ayalon is the first moshav ever to be visited by Nishmas Kedoshim members. The reason for this
is that Mishmar Ayalon had recently experienced an uprising of anti-religious sentiments, culminating in
the demolition of the local mikva by an anti-religious resident who unfortunately owned a bulldozer. It
was at that point that the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Lau, made an urgent request that something be done
to help the situation. A team of ten friendly and highly learned Torah scholars was organized and the first
outreach efforts were set in place. Torah classes were given to the residents, and meaningful friendships
began to blossom. At one point, a member of the moshav’s council – who had started attending the Torah
classes – was made aware of the vandalism done to the mikva. The man, Yaakov, was barely religious at
the time. Something deep inside Yaakov’s Jewish soul became furious at the apathy of the coucil to fix the
demolished mikva. For no reason he can explain, he flipped over the table they were sitting around and
screamed “enough, we will get that mikva fixed”. The man kept his word and proceeded to lobby ferociously
until the rest of the council members agreed to approve the repair of the mikva.

This story illustrates the fact that every Jew has a divine spark inside them which can remain dormant for
many years. The minute that spark glows, though, great things inevitably happen that the person himself can’t
always explain.

Recently, a group of teenagers were taken on a day trip to Tiveria by a few Nishmas Kedoshim members. The
tiyul involved a hiking trail. At one point, they noticed that there were two reporters from Arutz 2, a secular
Israeli TV channel, following them. It was clear that they were not looking to report anything flattering
about our “religious outreach extremists”. At one point, the group took a break and the reporters caught up
to them. They began their interview by asking “what do these religious men do with you?” The answer they
received was not what they were looking for, and a powerful keddush Hashem resulted. “These Rabbis are
our friends,” the boys responded. “They teach us to be virtuous people, to honor our parents, and to serve
God”. Unable to get a negative word out them, the reporters retreated back to their car.

It’s too bad that we didn’t invite the reporters to one of our Torah classes.

Another illustration of the power of this Jewish spark is the following story. On moshav Beit Chashmonai,
the children had virtually no exposure to anything religious. Once the Nishmas Kedoshim members began
to make a positive presence, many of them were rather intrigued by these friendly and wise men who
would spend time with them and began to teach them about their Judaism. The only other person they
had ever encountered who wore a kippa was the guard at the front gate to the moshav; a man named
Noam who himself is a baal tshuva. During their breaks in the local non-religious school, groups of kids
would crowd around Noam and ask him many questions that they began having about their religion. Noam
patiently answered their questions and proceeded to teach them about Avraham Avinu and the story of
our Nation. The children were so fascinated by his entertaining and engaging descriptions that many of
them stopped playing at their recess break and instead chose to crowd around Noam and thirstily drink in
his words of wisdom. This arrangement worked quite nicely until Noam was suddenly fired from his job a
short time later.

Today, Noam has officially joined the staff of Nishmas Kedoshim. He now uses his skills to reach out to other
Jewish youth and to bring them to begin the path that he himself has taken.

Elyakim Nissan is one of our most dedicated staff members. After years of dedicated military service, he has
joined our staff where he consistently performs above and beyond the call of duty. At one point, Elyakim
befriended a group of teenagers and was teaching them about the importance and beauty of the mitzva
of Tefillin. After some time a few of the youth agreed to try and put them on. They seemed to enjoy the
experience. However, Adar, a 15 year old boy seemed to always find an excuse why it wasn’t a good time for
him to put them on. Elyakim never pressured him. He did, however, have a sneaking suspicion that Adar’s
hesitations may have something to do with his macho leader status among his friends. Perhaps Adar was
afraid that donning Tefillin was a bit “uncool”. Elyakim decided to test his theory by meeting Adar privately
and offering him to put on the Tefillin. The theory was confirmed. Adar agreed for the first time to put on the
Tefillin and recite Shema Yisrael. After he finished, his eyes filled with tears and he told Elyakim the following:
“I have not put on Tefillin since my bar mitzva. I am begging you to be more firm with me and help me put
them on every day”

There are hundreds of youth just like Adar, waiting for someone like Elyakim to befriend them. Your contribution
to Nishmas Kedoshim can make that a reality.