The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people. I have heard them crying out, and I am concerned about their suffering.”
Exodus 3:7
Dear Friends,
As Jewish families across Israel gathered around the Passover table this week, the story of the Exodus carries a weight that feels deeply personal. Passover reminds us of a time when the people of Israel cried out in distress and God answered with deliverance, bringing them from bondage into freedom. It is a celebration of hope, faithfulness, and the promise that no season of darkness lasts forever.
But this year, many of those tables had an empty seat.
Israel has entered another major war with Iran, dramatically escalating tensions across the region, including Lebanon and Syria. The conflict has triggered a national state of emergency. Schools have been closed. Travel has been restricted. And tens of thousands of reserve soldiers have been mobilized to defend the nation, many of them called up for the seventh or eighth time since the war in Gaza began.
These reservists are not career soldiers. They are fathers, husbands, students, and professionals who left their homes, their jobs, and their families with little notice. For some, the call to serve has come so often that there have been more days in uniform than days at home in recent years. The exhaustion is enormous. And the toll on their families is something few people talk about.
Because when a reservist is called up, the family serves too.
Wives and children are left to cope with uncertainty, fear, and the grinding practical demands of daily life. Many households suddenly lose their primary source of income. Children struggle with anxiety and the repeated absence of a parent. And the wives carry it all, holding the home together while their hearts break again and again in silence.
Shelli (name has been changed for privacy) is a mother of four from Jerusalem, including twins who are now four years old. Her husband has been called up seven or eight times. After an appreciation evening we held for wives of reservists, she approached our team and simply said: Thank you. Thank you for one evening in which I was able to breathe.
She spoke honestly about the worry that never lets up, the thoughts that come at night after the house finally falls asleep, and a fear almost no one talks about: she wonders what kind of man will come back to her. When he returns for short breaks, she sees the change in his eyes, in his silence. One of his commanders was killed during an operational activity, and the weight of that loss sits heavily on him. After one long round of duty, he came home and could not tell the difference between their little twins. The girls had grown so much in the months he was away. He simply had not been there to see it happen.
At the appreciation evening, surrounded by other women who understood exactly what she was going through, there was no need to explain. No need to apologize. She told us it was the first time she did not feel alone in what she carries. It was a reminder that someone sees her, that what she is going through is real, and it gave her the strength to keep going.
Shelli’s story is just one, so touching, but it represents so many women who continue to keep a home running, to function through chores and school routines and bedtime and everything in between, while their hearts are on the battlefield.
Vision for Israel has been hosting reservists and their wives at the Millennium Center for therapeutic sessions. During these gatherings, we provide practical help, encouragement, and opportunities for families to recharge and receive emotional support. We create moments of relief and community for women who are carrying the weight of war at home. For one evening, they can set down the burden and simply breathe.
The cost of living in Israel continues to rise. The economic and social impact of this prolonged conflict is enormous, disrupting communities across the entire country. Missile threats and security alerts have become part of daily life. Even when the fighting quiets, the emotional and financial fallout continues. Families face a long road of rebuilding and healing.
Passover teaches us that God hears the cries of His people and brings deliverance. Darkness is never the end of the story. But He often works through the hands of those willing to act.
This Passover, will you help deliver hope to the families of those who are defending Israel? Your gift provides tangible, life-changing help: therapeutic care for exhausted reservists and their spouses, practical support for families who have lost income, and a message of love to those who feel unseen.
Give today and stand with the families who sacrifice so much for the safety of our nation.
Chag Pesach Sameach!
Barry & Batya
