Editors Note: The Ten Kavod (Give Respect) is United Hatzalah’s Project to pair volunteers with Holocaust survivors in need. We recently received this letter after one of our volunteers went on his first Ten Kavod call.

Today I was fortunate enough…

Fortunate enough to feel the grace…

As a son of our forefather Abraham, I was fortunate enough to feel and sense this wondering feeling!

The Ten Kavod project launched, and I was sent to be with an elderly person, listen to her stories, and take her vitals. Running in this crazy race of life, I had a hard time understanding this program and couldn’t see the significance of it. Together with the head of the Ten Kavod project in Migdal Haemek, Yehoshua Hakmon, and the head of the branch, Yossi Kakkon, I entered the elderly woman’s home.

In the beginning I was anxious and self-conscious. We introduced ourselves, began to talk, suddenly I plunged into this world, the world of our city… this could have been any one of us, and then, breaking into tears, she told me about her loneliness, about feeling that nobody in the world cares about her, about the horrible disease raging in her body.

I cried with her. I looked the sadness in the eye and I spoke to her. I even made her laugh, and then I remembered “measure the vitals,” but I knew the real measurement was her newly found joy in my presence.

I was shaken. I gave her my phone number, call once a week?? You’re kidding me! I will call every day, pause in this race of my life, and ask how she’s doing, and look her in the eyes.

Thank you for this amazing opportunity!

A half hour, worth a century!!

I wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world.

– Yossi Eliasaf

Want to know more about this amazing program? Click here: Ten Kavod Info