Page 11 - magazine
P. 11

A Heart




 of Gold













 IN MEMORY OF MOSHE LEVY, ISAAC LEVY’S FATHER   “My father’s unspoken and

 1928  - 2018
            unwritten legacy taught me
            certain values that were etched

 The Hebrew month of Nissan is traditionally a time of joy, the   day’s work and returning home, Moshe was starting his night
 beginning of spring, nature’s time to blossom and rejuvenate.   shift at a small biscuit factory. Nothing mattered to him so
 It  is  the  month  of  the  historical  Exodus  when  the  Israelites   long  as  he  could  earn  enough  to  provide  for  his  family.   into my heart from an early age”.
 were redeemed from slavery in Egypt. According to Jewish   Never  resting,  Moshe  Levy  was  always  working,  and  while
 custom one does not eulogize in the month of Nissan. Being   he worked,  like a real entrepreneur, he would think up ideas    Isaac Levy
 a man of very few words, possibly the latter is the reason that   for new work.
 Moshe Levy left us in Nissan for a more peaceful world.   Just before the Six Day War, he returned home and recruited
 Born  in  Buenos  Aires  Argentina,  almost  ninety  years  ago,   his children to fill up small bags with flour and sugar which
 Moshe Levy never had the luxury of a formal education and   he would take to sell in the ‘Machane Yehuda’ market in
 had to quit school at the age of eleven to help contribute   Jerusalem.  They  began  to  do  this  every  day  straight  after
 to the family’s day to day struggle. Finding himself enrolled   school and Moshe would sell whatever they had managed
 in the education of life, he quickly learned how to survive   to prepare.  At an age where many people are thinking about retirement,   “He imparted to me the values and the tools to which Yvel’s
 through hard work and determination.  Moshe  remained  very  embittered  about  losing  his  hard-  Moshe  went  to  work  at  Yvel.  There  he  quickly  became  a   success can be attributed. Notably, the efforts that we have
 At the age of thirty-five, he decided that he was going to   earned  savings  to  his  unscrupulous  partner.  “I  remember   beloved member of the Yvel family. At the age of 82, after   made reaching out to those in need of help”, Isaac explains.
 take his family and immigrate to Israel. And so, Moshe and   as a child walking with my father and my brother in the hills   having worked at Yvel for twenty years, he wanted to retire.   “Most  of  Yvel’s  philanthropic  work  comes  from  those  silent
 his wife, together with their two boys, left Argentina and took   outside of Jerusalem”, recalls Isaac. “We asked him, where   “I’ve been working since I was eleven”, he said. “I’m tired”.  seeds that my father planted in my heart throughout my life.
 the boat to Israel.   is  that  sausage  factory?  And  he  pointed  very  bitterly  in  a   Isaac and Orna made sure that his father’s last years were   And for this – Daddy, I thank you. We all thank you”.
 While  in  Argentina,  Moshe  Levy  had  worked  very  hard  to   certain direction”. It was only years later when Moshe was   very  comfortable  and  happy.  “We  tried  not  only  to  give   In 2010, the past came full circle when in an incredible twist of
 save some money in order to start a business in Israel and   hired to run the Jerusalem delivery department of a large   him everything he needed to add years to his life, but more   fate the Levy’s managed to purchase the plot of land where
 secure a successful future for his family. He invested all of the   supermarket chain, that he attained a better quality of life.   importantly, to add life to his remaining years”, said Isaac.  Moshe  Levy’s  hapless  sausage  factory  once  stood.  It  was
 money that he had brought from Argentina into a sausage   His typical brand of ‘hard work’ paved the way for him to   Moshe Levy left behind the biggest fortune that a person can   precisely on this spot, on this ground that had proved to be
 factory on the outskirts of Jerusalem. But he had partnered   run the delivery departments of seven additional locations.  have – a loving family. Survived by two sons, a daughter, two   so bad for the new immigrant Levy family that Isaac chose to
 with a man who turned out to be a crook and ran off with   Moshe would always take an opportunity with both hands,   daughters-in-law, a son-in-law, seven grandchildren, and five   build the new Yvel Design Center, along with the Megemeria
 Moshe’s life-savings. Faced with poverty, what had until now   and the most important thing for him was never to give up.   great-grandchildren,  all  of  them  living  in  Israel,  the  country   School  of  Jewelry  and  Art.  This  center  has  now  become  a
 been a struggle, quickly turned into a nightmare.    “My father’s philosophy was always, if you can’t resolve a   that he brought them to fifty-five years ago.  haven for new immigrants, a place where they feel nurtured
 And so Moshe found himself in this tough new country where   problem  with  hard  work  –  then  work  harder  and  it  will  be   With  an  unspoken  and  unwritten  legacy,  Moshe  taught  his   rather than deprived.
 he  didn’t  speak  the  language,  was  not  familiar  with  the   resolved”.  children  certain  values.  They  were  etched  into  their  hearts   In memory of Moshe Levy and in the merit of all the suffering
 culture, and above all had no money or profession. However,   Moshe  Levy  was  never  a  man  of  words,  but  his  eyes  told   from  an  early  age:  Never  give  up  -  especially  if  things  get   over the loss of his sausage factory, hundreds of immigrants
 he was a real survivor, and determined to put food on his   the story of his life. His eyes also mirrored his huge heart that   tough. Never move away from Israel - not for any reason in   have been given the opportunity to build successful lives here
 family’s  table,  he  did  what  every  strong  and  determined   endeared him to everyone who knew him. He was the one   the world. And always reach out to the ones that need your   in Israel. Finally, a place that caused so much disappointment
 young man would do. He worked hard. This included getting   who  was  always  there  to  help.  But  with  the  kind  of  help   help. Moshe Levy built his life upon these three pillars, and he   and despair to the immigrant Levy family, has now become a
 up  before  dawn  and  driving  builders  to  their  construction   that  people  used  to  give  in  the  old  days  –  without  strings   taught his children to do the same.   place that brings encouragement and hope to hundreds of
 sites.  Cleaning  the  inside  of  huge  gasoline  tanks.  Driving   attached,  without  an  agenda.  Need  help?  Don’t  worry,   other immigrants.
 doctors and nurses to the hospital, and electrical technicians   Moshe Levy is coming.
 to their place of work. When most people were finishing a
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