I remember being in the sanctuary Yom Kippur October 6, 1973. I was 14, the tension in the sanctuary was palpable and when the Rabbi rose to give his traditional bond purchase for Israel sermon, all ears on eyes were on him as he asked the congregation to double, to triple their purchases of Israeli bonds.

And, when the lights were dimmed and the Rabbi asked the congregants at the end of the pew to pass along the envelope so that that congregants along the way could drop their donation cards into the envelope you knew, or at least hoped that your parents and all gathered that day were going to dig deep into their pockets for Israel, because Israel was in need.

On that day in 1973, Jews worldwide understood they were facing an existential crisis.

October 7, 2023 marked the beginning of a new existential crisis for Israel and for Jews in the diaspora as well.

Since October 7, Beit Halochem, a charity dedicated to helping injured Israel war veterans and victims of terror, has received more than 700 new members – young, injured defenders - to add to the 57,000 members they already have. Unfortunately, this number continues to grow daily.

Beit Halochem is there for these disabled veterans and their families today and will be there for the rest of their lives.

This will be my third ride for Beit Halochem. On past rides I have spoken to the veterans that Beit Halochem helps, have toured the facilities and have seen first hand how our donation dollars are spent.

Our dollars help veterans and victims of terror heal, it helps them reintegrate into daily life and become whole.

This year I will be matching all contributions you make. I would be grateful for any contribution that you wish to make; and if you could double or triple what you might have given in the past, even better.

Thank you in advance for supporting me with this ride, but more importantly thank you for supporting the veterans and victims of terror on their road to recovery.

Gerald