For families living throughout Yehuda and Shomron (Judea and Samaria), the question is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss.
For the Schwell family of Havat Gilad, however, it is no longer a political question or a distant headline.
It is the charred remains of their home.
It is two parents trying to comfort six children without a house to return to.
It is a family of eight that cannot even find one temporary place where they can all remain together.
On Shabbos afternoon at approximately 3:00 PM, the Schwell family received an urgent call to evacuate as a fast-moving fire was sweeping through their small community.
There was no time to pack bags. No time to gather documents. No time to save photographs, clothing, religous books or cherished family possessions.
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With only minutes to spare, the parents and their six children ran from the house with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.
Then they watched as their home was engulfed in flames.
Firefighters fought bravely to save the building, but the fire had already taken hold. There was nothing they could do.
Baruch Hashem, every member of the family escaped safely.
But when the flames finally subsided, the horrifying extent of their loss became clear.
Their home had turned to ashes.
Their clothing was gone. Their furniture was gone. Their jewelry and family photographs were gone. Their books had been destroyed.
Their father’s grandfather’s tefillin, an irreplaceable connection to the generations that came before them, were lost in the fire. Their sons’ tefillin were also destroyed.
The devastation extended far beyond one home. At least 13 houses were completely destroyed, dozens of additional structures were damaged and more than 100 families were forced to evacuate Havat Gilad. Community leaders described the aftermath as a humanitarian crisis.
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For the Schwell family, the crisis continues every hour of every day.
Two parents and six children are now homeless.
They have no familiar bedrooms where the children can sleep. No closets filled with their clothing. No kitchen table around which the family can sit. No photographs on the walls reminding them of happier moments.
They do not even have one temporary home large enough to keep all eight family members together.
A fire can destroy a house in minutes.
Rebuilding a family’s sense of security is far more difficult.
The Schwell family must now replace every basic necessity while confronting the enormous cost of temporary accommodations and rebuilding. At the same time, the parents must help six children process the trauma of losing their home and everything that once surrounded them.
Some losses can never be replaced.
No donation can recreate a treasured family photograph. No amount of money can restore an inherited pair of tefillin or return the memories attached to a beloved sefer.
But a donation can provide clothing.
It can help provide beds and basic household necessities.
It can help give this family stability while they rebuild.
Most importantly, it can help bring two parents and six children back together under one roof.
This is the moment for Klal Yisrael to demonstrate that no Jewish family must confront such devastation alone.
Please contribute generously to the emergency campaign for the Schwell family. Every donation, regardless of size, will help them move from homelessness and uncertainty toward security, stability and a home of their own once again.
Help this family of eight rise from the ashes and begin again.
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