It was raining sunshine at this year’s Yad Eliezer's annual tournament, in contrast to last year's downpour and quick change of venue to the Deal JCC. Hosted by Karen and Joe Shabot, approximately 300 basketball and tennis players proved their competitive skills throughout the day.

Scott Dweck and Eddie Shabot spearheaded the event for the fifth year. “The first year was very successful,” said Eddie. It started out on a much smaller scale and has vastly expanded since then. Even so, “We still run it very Mom-and-Pop style,” Eddie said. A new addition this summer was sno kones and cotton candy, which delighted the children and adults too.

The two men began working together after Eddie heard Scott's “heart wrenching” speech about Yad Eliezer in synagogue. At the time, Eddie had been running tournaments for another charitable organization, but after approaching Scott with the determination to help, they decided to run a tournament for Yad Eliezer together.

The organization began in 1980 in Rabbi Yaakov and Hadassah Weisel's kitchen when they prepared a food basket for a neighbor who couldn't feed her children. When the Weisels gathered and delivered food with a handful of volunteers, including their three children, they never imagined they would jumpstart a multi-million dollar organization with over 10,000 volunteers. Yad Eliezer grew to encompass over 13 programs and services, catering to 12,000 families in Israel yearly. The Weisel’s son, Dov, is the current director of Yad Eliezer.

“Every time I go to Israel, I see what they do and it's unbelievable. There's a massive, massive need. Just like we have our needs here, conditions are 100 times worse in Israel. And as the greatest community in the world, we should be able to help other communities, especially those in Israel,” said Eddie.

“Thank G-d for this community,” declared Scott. “Community members help Jews everywhere, no matter where they live or what their zip code. Not only do people give financial aid, but they also help by getting involved in other ways, like giving their time or opening their homes.”

Maurice Haber and Nathan Rudy arranged the 20 basketball teams. After battling it out, the emerging champions were Isaac Cohen, David Epstein, Sammy Gerwitz, MVP Eddie “Little G” Gindi, Jack “G” Gindi and Nathan Matthews. Seventeen-year-old Eddie proudly held his trophies.

Abraham Abadi, Joey Cohen, Harold Dweck, Michael Jemal and Jeffrey Terzi organized the A and B tennis tournaments. A tennis winners were Joey Cohen and Leon Harary, and the B tournament champions were Morris Dweck and Eddie Hazan.

Charitynavigator.com, a website that rates organizations based on how effectively and responsibly they utilize contributions, and to what extent they expand their services, gave Yad Eliezer a “4-star exceptional,” the highest possible rating. An unbelievable 95% of collected funds go directly to families.

“We have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people waiting on line for food,” said Sori Tropper, director of American Friends of Yad Eliezer. The organization is careful to confirm that recipients are truly needy. There are teams located in each neighborhood to verify families' conditions on an ongoing basis.

The Weisels' dedication never faltered over the years, even when thieves broke into their Jerusalem home in the early 1990s after Rabbi Weisel had received a large cash contribution. Because Rabbi Weisel refused to relinquish any money, he was stabbed 21 times. A friend visited him in the hospital the following day and found him talking on the phone, arranging food distributions, reported Mishpacha Magazine.

It's because of such devotion that Yad Eliezer continues to thrive. “When they stop needing, we'll stop feeding,” said Scott. Until then, donations can be made through Scott at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Eddie at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and Sori at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Written by: Yvonne Harari