Hi, I’m Malky.
My husband is the kind of person who pulls over to help strangers change a tire. Who remembers the name of every waiter. Who has never once passed a person collecting tzedakah without stopping.
When our grandchildren visit, he gets on the floor with them. He does the voices when he reads to them. He keeps candy in his pocket that he pretends they don't know about.
He's been a ZAKA volunteer for years. If you don't know what that means — ZAKA are the people who arrive after the worst happens. After the bombings, the attacks. They recover the bodies. They make sure every victim, no matter how terrible the scene, can receive a proper Jewish burial. It's holy work. It's also brutal work. My husband did it not because he wanted recognition, but because he couldn't live with himself if he didn't help. That's just who he is.
After October 7th, he showed up again and again and again. For months. He never complained. He never said it was too much. But it was too much.
The man I'm describing to you — the one with the candy in his pocket and the bad knees on the floor — He needs real help. Professional help, after all he has seen these past few years. The kind we can't afford. I'm asking for him, because he never would. And because he spent two years showing up for everyone else. Now I'm hoping someone will show up for him. Please help us give him the professional therapy he needs to recover.
Below is the English translation of ZAKA360’s letter: (Original below)
“Dear Friends,
We turn to you today from a place that is both deeply painful and filled with hope — hope in the strength of our community to stand together, to embrace, and to heal.
Over the past two years, since the outbreak of the war and the difficult events that followed, the volunteers of the ZAKA 360 unit have stood at the forefront of humanity. They were the first to arrive, the first to face the pain, the first to witness what no human being should ever have to see.
One of our beloved volunteers — a man who gave of himself day after day for the country and for its families — has suffered a severe and devastating emotional damage. The sights, the smells, the horrors, and the unimaginable encounters with loss left a growing wound inside him, until he reached a point of emotional collapse.
He is not asking for much.
He is not asking for even a fraction of what he gave.
He is simply asking for our hand — a warm, supportive, compassionate hand to help him stand on his feet again.
We are raising urgent funds for professional treatment, emotional support, and long-term rehabilitation. A medical and psychological team is already prepared to begin the process, but without immediate assistance, it simply cannot move forward. Every donation, large or small, makes you a partner in saving the life of someone who saved the lives of others. Every share, every bit of awareness, every kind word strengthens him and helps him breathe again.
Let us take part in a true act of kindness.
Let us show our volunteers that they are not alone.
Let us give back even a small measure of the heart he gave to all of us.
On behalf of all ZAKA 360 volunteers, and on behalf of one whose dedication knew no bounds, thank you from the depths of our hearts. Together we will lift him up. Together we will heal.”
