Aleph Brings Holiday Joy to Isolated Souls

Last year, a group of Aleph volunteers traveled to a prison to lead Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur davening. The only hotel nearby was a few miles away, and because they couldn't drive on the holiday, they walked.

Last year, a group of Aleph volunteers traveled to a prison to lead Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur davening. The only hotel nearby was a few miles away, and because they couldn’t drive on the holiday, they walked.

Three miles there. Three miles back. Multiple times a day, every day, for the entire holiday.

One of the men inside wrote to us afterward: “When we first saw the bochurim, our hearts jumped for joy! They stayed in a hotel 3 miles away which meant they were walking 12 miles each day! They were so nice to us. They didn’t care why we were in prison or the

fact that we were there. They showed us the same love and concern as they would anyone else and made us feel normal. They made it a true Yom Tov for us and it was such a pleasure to have them there.”

Twelve miles is no small feat. But for this man, the miracle wasn’t the walking. It was that someone chose to. In a place so cut off from the world, where it can be easy to feel forgotten, these young men decided that the distance simply didn’t matter.

That spirit of showing up continues this year. Fifty volunteers brought prayer, connection, and inspiration to 25 prisons for Rosh Hashanah. For Yom Kippur, 45 dedicated volunteers will travel to 15 facilities to ensure Jewish men behind bars can observe the holiest day of the year with dignity and meaning.

And Aleph’s reach doesn’t stop at our borders. Our International Advocacy team helped ensure that incarcerated individuals around the world have a shofar, a machzor, and anything else they need for the holidays. Supplies have already reached people in Germany, Malaysia, Panama, Peru, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond. Aleph also shipped thousands of religious and educational supplies to Jewish men and women isolated in prisons and on military bases around the world, including: 1,148 machzorim, 291 lulav and etrog sets, 109 shofars, 2,448 honey packets, 36 pop-up sukkahs, 75 High Holiday DVDs, 9,160 Jewish calendars, 746 yarmulkahs, and so much more.

“I find myself reflecting on how lucky I am,” shared Joshua*, who has been incarcerated for more than 10 years. “I thank Hashem for allowing me the opportunity to know and learn from you. Without Aleph, I would have been lost. I now look forward to each and every day that G-d returns my soul to me.”

Every mile our volunteers walk. Every shofar that reaches a remote cell or military base. Every letter that makes its way behind bars. It all begins with someone deciding that the distance doesn’t matter. And now, as Yom Kippur approaches, there are still men and women behind bars waiting for someone to reach them—to bring them a machzor, help them hear the shofar, or simply remind them that they have not been forgotten.

For someone behind a prison wall, knowing that someone cared enough to reach them can change everything. To help Aleph continue bringing the light and warmth of Yiddishkeit to those who are isolated this Tishrei, please visit aleph-institute.org.

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