Our Story — How Lehachyois Became Tzfat (Safed)'s Largest Kuppah
It all started with the empty pantry.
Rabbi Shlomo Katina came to Tzfat for one Shabbat in 2017. This is the story of what happened next, in his own words.
Roots in Tzfat
My great-grandfather was a shochet in Tzfat.
I live in upstate New York, but I grew up with a deep love for this extraordinary city. From a young age I felt a special bond with Tzfat, and whenever I had the opportunity, I would travel there.
As Rabbi Elimelech Biderman once told me: “Is there not a great Creator in this world?” Hashem orchestrates everything: a young man from America becomes deeply moved by the situation in Tzfat, and is inspired to take on major initiatives for the city and its families.
In his own words
From one Shabbat to a thousand families
The story of how the largest kuppah in Tzfat came to be run from Monroe, New York.
2017
I have to do something.
I spent a Shabbat in Tzfat shortly after Lag BaOmer. Several families invited me into their homes. I saw empty food pantries, nearly empty refrigerators, and parents struggling to provide even the most basic necessities for their children. It deeply affected me. I left with one clear thought: I have to do something.
2018–2020
Family after family
What began as helping one family here and another family there quickly grew. The more involved I became, the more the Rabbanim of Tzfat reached out: the need was far greater than I had imagined. Family after family was added to our list, and our Yom Tov distributions at the Lelover Beis Medrash became known throughout the city.
2021
A phone call one Friday afternoon
A father called me from a grocery store. “I am standing here with a bottle of grape juice and a challah for Shabbat — but I don’t have enough money to pay for them.” That moment strengthened my resolve. It became Geb a Challah, which today brings over 2,000 challot to families across Tzfat every single week, from 3 distribution locations.
Today
1,000 families, every kehillah
Today Lehachyois serves more than 1,000 families, from every kehillah and every part of the Tzfat community. The appreciation that comes after every distribution, from the Rabbanim and from the families themselves, is my greatest source of encouragement. None of this would be possible without our partners.
“For everyone — and with dignity.”
Lehachyois’s motto, as quoted in HaShavua. In Kislev 5786 the magazine ran a 2-page feature on the organization: the Yom Tov distributions, the weekly challah program, and the man from Monroe who runs it all. HaShavua, Issue 515.
With the blessing of the Rabbanim
“In the name of all the residents of our city”
That is how the gabbaim of Tzfat’s batei midrash open their letter. From the Gavad of Yerushalayim in 5778 to the city’s Rabbinate and mayor in 5786, the letters below all ask the same thing: stand with these families. Read them in full.
They stand at the side of these families — for the needs of Shabbat and Yom Tov, and especially as the chagim draw near
Rabbi Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss zt"l, Gavad of Yerushalayim
Here in the holy city of Tzfat, he holds distributions with dignity — to lighten the load and support those in need
The Bania-Nadvorna Rebbe of Tzfat
As their name promises — Lehachyois, to give life — bringing the simcha of Shabbat and Yom Tov into hundreds of homes. There is no end to so great a mitzvah
The Rabbanim of Tzfat
Week after week — thousands of challot in honor of Shabbat kodesh, distributed with dignity
The gabbaim of the batei midrash of Tzfat
Hundreds of fresh challot every erev Shabbat — bringing the light of Shabbat, and its fragrance, into the homes that need it
The Religious Council of Tzfat
Fortunate is the city that has merited this organization — a precious asset to Tzfat, a model of mutual responsibility and pure chesed
Yossi Kakon, Mayor of TzfatWrite the next chapter with us.
Lehachyois runs on its partners. Join them, monthly or with a one-time gift.