Page 11 - magazine

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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