Shoshana Bracha Shafer, a young Jerusalem teenager, was standing at the bus stop in Givat Shaul last Thursday when terrorists jumped out of a car and opened fire at the crowd of travellers from close range. Shoshana was shot in the stomach and is now recovering in hospital, where she was visited by Shai Graucher, the son of famous chasidic singer Dedi Graucher who died in September at age 62.
Graucher has been working almost non-stop in the wake of the October 7th attacks, raising money and distributing it to the survivors, to their families, to displaced people, to soldiers, police officers and to the families of reservists. He has created a registered nonprofit in Israel — Chessed v’Rachamim, meaning Grace and Mercy — and an affiliated 501(c)3 in the United States (TK). Though these are the names of the organizations, the initiative itself is known in Hebrew as Beyachad Nenatze’ach, meaning “together we will win,” and in English as “Standing Together.”
“We’re helping people who lost their loved ones with financial support. We’re helping families whose houses were broken to fix them. We’re helping soldiers with equipment… We’re doing barbecues with the army,” Graucher said. “We are helping the families who are in [evacuee] hotels. We’re sending [presents to the wives of reservists] who are home for three, four weeks without their husband. We’re helping [displaced people] with winter clothes. We’re helping women who gave birth and their husband is in the army. We have kitchens that are open 24-7, sending food, Shabbat meals, special things.”
Despite all this feverish activity, Shai Graucher found time to ask Shoshana what she wanted. Her answer amazed him.
Shoshana responded that she wants to help her father’s Kollel so he shouldn’t have to fly to America and fundraise this month. Graucher immediately offered him $26,000 to help the father, as well as bringing singer Mordechai Shapiro to raise the spirits of a deeply moved Shoshana.
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