Dear Friend of Zion,

Do you know how to say "love" in Hebrew?

a*ha*va...

Ahava is also in the name of our children’s home that now needs your support: Ahava Village for Children and Youth. It began in Berlin Germany in 1914 as a feeding center for Jewish street children and became “Ahava” in 1922 when Nurse Beate Berger transformed it into a Youth Center for Jewish children in distress. In 1935, realizing Germany was unsafe, she traveled with the children to the ‘holy land’ settling on the three acres she purchased. Over the next 4 years, several hundred orphans were taken out of Nazi Germany and placed in this safe-haven - the very site where the center stands to this day in Kiryat Bialik, in northern Israel.

From the Holocaust, right through 2017, we have had the privilege of rescuing Jewish children from life-threatening circumstances. At Ahava, they find a nurturing home, learn trust, and experience the love of a family, all perhaps for the first time.

I wish I could introduce you to every single child in our care. Their faces are so beautiful and their lives are so promising. The abuse and horrors they’ve lived through are unimaginable, but the hope they find once they start to receive all they so desperately need is inspiring.



I want to ask you to send a Valentine to Israel this year. Your gift of love will help complete the therapy building for the children. Currently we don’t have one and if we’re going to make our goal of breaking ground in 2017, we need help. Your gift will ensure these children receive the best counseling and restorative therapies available.

You know the Hebrew word for love is Ahava. But, what few people know is that all Hebrew words have a root word that gives it its meaning. Ahava’s root is hav, meaning to give. In Jewish understanding, love is always linked with giving, which is perhaps why one of the best-known Bible verses contains the words: "For God so loved, He gave..." (John 3:16a).

May God bless you and your Heart for Zion.

Shalom and warmest blessings to you and your family from Israel. Cheryl Bier, Bnai Zion’s Executive Vice President

P.S. Please. Do something different this Valentine’s Day. Your offering will make a difference for Ahava's children in Israel. From the bottom of our hearts and theirs, we thank you.