Alyosha and Jody are Israeli citizens, living in the Land and have been working with Holocaust Survivors for the past decade. Their goal has been to reach into the lives of Survivors in their residential homes throughout the land of Israel, and some in the own apartments, to bring them concerts filled with beautiful music from Alyosha and other musicians as well as singers. In addition to the glorious music Song of Israel seeks to bring dancers and singers who join them in true joy and loving care into their environment. Each week Song of Israel co-ordinates concerts in several locations, including their own home living room with a beautiful grand piano that seats up to 50 people. It is a blessing to see tour busses coming to their home and unloading a bus full of these precious people, where not only glorious music is shared, but refreshments and some gifts are often given.
The work of Song of Israel has also been coordinating other groups of tourists and volunteers, coming from the nations, that desire to touch these lives of the Survivors and also bring music, drama, dance, craft making workshops, painting, etc. Jody actively sets up these creative tours and events for them as part of the “Acts of Love” for the Survivors. Maybe your tour group would like to invest in the Survivors or an Orphanage (Children’s Village with 100’s of children)?
Most of the Holocaust Survivors are in the 80’s and 90’s and because of this Alyosha and Jody have dedicated most of their work in Israel to them, in the small window of time left, to show them love and kindness. It is their wish to bring them an experience of God’s heart of love for them, through this music and demonstration, through those that truly love and care for them. Many are alone and some have even been abandoned by their own children, who now live in other countries. They need our love and touch NOW!
The reason why the Ryabinovs have dedicated their lives to this particular work is because they could see the depth of impact their efforts made upon the Survivors and also the staff of every facility where they reached out to. After being exposed to these people, Alyosha and Jody took a tour of the concentration camps in Poland for 10 days, touring a different camp each day. The depth of the sufferings and mass murders of their own Jewish people, as well as others murdered, broke their hearts and from that tour on they would never be the same. The firsthand knowledge of the cruelty and sufferings of those that died and those that survived were now forever etched in their minds. How could they not do something to bring blessings to those who lost their entire families and suffered so much in their early life.
The impact we see is that their countenance changes from darkness to light, as if the hand of God reaches down and lifts them up with His love and brightness. Several times we have seen people get out of wheel chairs and dance with the dancers or just get up out of joy and excitement they have experienced. We know that this is not normal and that something very, very special has taken place. Something divine! For this we continue going into all these facilities and laboring among these precious souls who have been so abused, and that word doesn’t seem to touch the extent of what they have lived through. One must do research to see what was done by the Nazi regime to the Jews and others they deemed unworthy to live. Not only were the Survivors of the Holocaust impacted, but the following generations of the Survivors also were and are impacted. It is something to see… and then act upon.
There is only one small window of time to touch these lives and we know we are called by our Creator to do this for them.