This Shabbos, Ukrainian refugees Joseph and Miriam Suprun celebrated the shalom zachor of their healthy baby boy. While every birth is a miracle, the extraordinary circumstances of this baby’s birth are noteworthy.
Miriam Suprun escaped Ukraine on her own as her husband was forced to stay and fight. Miriam was in her eighth month of pregnancy, and she escaped with her three children in the backseat of the car.
She was filled with anxiety at the thought of having nowhere to birth the baby, but at the border of Poland, she was greeted by Rebbetzin Dina Suprun of Chabad of Poland.
Rebbetzin Dina Stambler assured Miriam that Chabad would help with everything.
The rebbetzin was with Miriam on Rosh Chodesh Nissan when her very special boy was delivered into the world. He was surrounded by love and joy from the moment of his arrival.
The entire Suprun family is currently staying at the Hilton hotel which Chabad of Poland rented for refugees. There, delicious kosher meals are prepared for them and the other refugees.
After the birth, the Supruns were greeted with new mother and baby essentials. A new baby stroller which was gifted to them from an Israeli family in Poland.
“I didn’t expect so much,” says the grateful father who received a special permit to be at the birth of his child. “I don’t think we would have made it without Chabad’s help. They took care of clothing, transportation, and kosher food. I am so thankful to G-d and to Chabad of Poland.”
Before the Russian invasion, the Stamblers’ expenses and resources were that of a typical Chabad House but as Poland is on the border of Ukraine and is now flooded with refugees, they have turned themselves into an emergency hub for their war-torn brothers and sisters.
Rabbi Sholom Ber and Mayer Stambler of Chabad of Poland have given Jewish refugees food, housing, and medical care since the start of the war. Because of this, they have accrued expenses for one month which they did not have for one full year prior to the invasion.
They now turn to their brothers and sisters to please open their hearts so they can continue their life-saving work.
Chabad rented rooms at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Warsaw for the entire month of April because it is almost impossible to find a free room considering the influx of Ukrainian refugees into the neighboring Poland.
Chabad rented enough beds for one hundred people. They have also found some spare apartments and rooms all around the city to host a total of 200 refugees each day and night, plus a separate kosher kitchen and a large dining hall with hundreds of seats. Chabad will provide kits of traditional Seder food and matzah and wine to more than 2,000 refugees. The cost of the hotel and catering is $250,000 for the entire month of April.
Chabad of Poland does not have the resources for an operation of this magnitude, so they must rely on their Jewish brothers and sisters for support.
In addition to the above mentioned cost of $250,000 for April, we have other costs of operations outside the hotel as detailed in the updated table below:
DAILY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS BUDGET
We urgently need to raise $1M to cover the next 2 months’ worth of emergency operations.
It is a matter of life and death for those who have already lost their country, their homes, and their loved ones.
Please give generously.
Chabad of Warsaw, Poland
For more options and further assistance, email office@chabad.org.pl
Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber Stambler
Rabbi Mayer Stambler
mstambler@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +972-544-577422
Mobile: +48-693-108559
Office: +48-22-6375073
Slominskiego 19 lok 508
00-195 Warsaw Poland
