TIMELINE
See: Keren Hayeled through the Decades (click here)
WHO WE ARE
Keren Hayeled: A Safe Haven for Children in Need
Keren Hayeled was founded by Rabbi Yehoshua Leib ztz”l and Rebbetzin Rachel Zisel ob”m Godlewski who escaped the Holocaust to Shanghai in China. Despite being refugees themselves, with great self-sacrifice they procured a dormitory to shelter lonely refugee children with no family or homes from the physical dangers of street life and the accompanying spiritual dangers of missionaries.
Their great work, dedication and self-sacrifice was continued by their children, including Rabbi Yosef Godlewsky ztz”l and his wife Perl ob”m, who served Keren Hayeled for many decades. Today, the founders’ other sons, Rabbis David and Mattityahu Godlewsky, together with other descendants of these exemplary founders and a dedicated, fully-professional staff, are maintaining the family tradition of saving Jewish children in crisis and providing them with love, warmth and devotion.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Keren Hayeled: Every Child Deserves a Family; Every Child Deserves a Chance.
Every child should live in a warm and loving environment, which embraces him and provides him with his needs.
The child’s biological family is the foundation which builds the child. Guarding and nurturing that vital relationship will enhance his spiritual and mental health.
We are emissaries throughout the journey of the life of the child, and our job is to give him emotional and educational tools to continue his way.
The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our interpersonal relationships. So our goal is to build the capacity to create healthy and stable relationships.
There are numerous connections between the inner and outer world, and we can use them all in our therapeutic work. Good therapeutic work encompasses all circles of life of the child, and each team is an educator and a therapist, from the principal to each individual who works with the child.
WHAT WE DO
Keren Hayeled: Building a Better Tomorrow for Children – Today!
Keren Hayeled provides a warm, loving home for hundreds of orphans and children from dysfunctional families. Some are victims of severe poverty or physical abuse. Others have parents who suffer from mental illness or addiction.
All have one thing in common: They have no place to call home other than Keren Hayeled.
Keren Hayeled began as a fund to save Holocaust refugee children from living on the streets and from missionaries, first in Shanghai and later in New York.
Throughout the decades, Keren Hayeled has been confronting the changing forms of crisis affecting Jewish youth.
Today it provides a warm home to orphans and children from dysfunctional families throughout Israel.
Keren Hayeled’s goal is not just to provide its children with food, clothing, shelter, and an education, but also to ensure that the children grow up happy and healthy.
Its dedicated staff gives their heart and soul to the children, providing them with the home and family they never had.