They couldn’t be more different. Joseph Gitler, a lawyer and YU graduate from New York, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish man. Aryeh Lurie, a Sephardic descendant of the Ben Ish Chai, grew up in poverty on the streets of Jerusalem, often sent to school with no food. They both heard the cry of Jewish people who didn’t have enough to eat. Each took matters into their own hands. Thirty years later, they’ve both built hessed empires in Israel, and they’ve teamed up to spread their impact even further.
When Gitler’s Leket Israel rescues fresh vegetables from farms across the country, they go straight to Lurie’s Yad Ezra V’Shulamit warehouses, where chicken, fish, bread, rice, noodles, canned goods, oil, dairy, and other staples are added—turning each basket into a lifeline for more than 72,000 needy people in Israel every week. Together, these two hessed giants are making sure Israel’s poor get full, fresh, nutritious food with dignity.
include chicken, challas and dry goods
locations, including fresh fruits and vegetables supplied by Leket
JOSEPH GITLER
Founder and Chairman, Leket Israel
In 2000, Joseph Gitler moved from New York to Israel. What he saw shocked him: an abundance of food going to waste while so many went hungry. Determined to bridge that gap, he founded Leket Israel, starting with gathering surplus meals from caterers to feed the poor.
From that small beginning, Leket grew into Israel’s largest food rescue organization, collecting tens of thousands of tons of fresh fruits and vegetables every year from farms, hotels, caterers, and IDF army bases. Today, Leket partners with over 300 nonprofits to make sure good food reaches the people who need it most.
“Yad Ezra V’Shulamit is our biggest partner, distributing more food than any other of the 300 organizations we work with.” Said Joseph Gitler
ARYEH LURIE
Founder, Yad Ezra V’Shulamit
Aryeh Lurie was born and raised in Jerusalem in poverty. Many days, he went to school with nothing but a paper bag instead of a backpack and often without a sandwich for lunch. But his parents taught him that no matter how little you have, you can always help someone with less.
As a boy, Aryeh promised himself: When I grow up, I will feed the poor.
In 1988, he founded Yad Ezra V’Shulamit, named for his parents, to bring food to struggling families in Jerusalem. Today, his organization feeds hundreds of thousands of people all across Israel, with weekly grocery distributions and extra support before every holiday.
With four warehouses, twelve trucks, and 93 distribution points nationwide, Yad Ezra V’Shulamit has become the largest distributor of food baskets in Israel, and Leket’s main partner in distributing rescued produce.
More Than Just Vegetables:
Thanks to Yad Ezra V’Shulamit
It begins in the fields, where volunteers from around the world harvest fresh vegetables for Leket. From there, produce is sent to Yad Ezra V’Shulamit’s warehouses, where other essentials are added—chicken, fish, dairy, dried goods, canned food, and pantry staples like rice, beans, oil, noodles, challah, and grape juice for the holidays.
Each week, Yad Ezra V’Shulamit delivers the food baskets to its 93 distribution points, where local volunteers set up and welcome people in need, making sure they leave with the food that will sustain them for the week ahead.
Partners in Hessed
“We may be on the front lines getting food to the needy, but it is only because of Leket that we can provide so much produce. To buy the amount of fruits and vegetables Leket gives us would cost a fortune,” says Aryeh Lurie, founder of Yad Ezra V’Shulamit.
“We need our partners to get food directly to the poor in local Israeli communities. Yad Ezra V’Shulamit is our biggest partner, distributing more food than any other of the 300 organizations we work with,” says Leket founder Joseph Gitler. “Our end goal is shared: to feed the poor, to avoid waste, and to make sure everyone has their basic food needs met.”
Together, Joseph Gitler and Aryeh Lurie have fed hundreds of thousands of Israel’s poorest—and they’re not stopping. What’s better than one tzaddik in our generation? Two tzaddikim working together. Join them in feeding Israel’s poor. Join them in feeding Israel’s poor.
at a Yad Ezra V’Shulamit Children’s Center
