The Lydia Project is a ministry dedicated to ministering to the widows, the orphans, the poor, and the victims of terror in the land of Israel.

When you donate to The Lydia Project, we take those much-needed tithes and offerings to those in need in the Land of Israel. Every donation to The Lydia Project — large or small — becomes part of our collective tithe than can make a huge difference to the widows, the orphans, and the needy in Israel. When we give to the needy, we are lending to the Almighty, who promises to repay us in our times of need.

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Until then, you and I are Israel.  It is upon the fertile soil of our obedience to His commandments that Yahweh is restoring the ancient paths of His Torah today just as He did in the days of Hezekiah and Nehemiah. It is you and I who are bringing our tithes into the gate today to care for those in desperate need.

At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: and the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Yahweh thy Elohim may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).

Over the past three and one half years, The Lydia Project has been taking care of widows, orphans, the poor and victims of persecution and terror in the land of Israel. Your generous tithes and offerings have enabled us to distribute over $300,000.

Thank you for standing with us and trusting us with the widow’s portion of your tithes and offerings, so that together, we can be the provision Yahweh ordained us to be.

Then thou shalt say before Yahweh thy Elohim – I have brought the hallowed out of mine house and have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger, to the fatherless and also to the widow according to all the commandments which thou has commanded me.  I have not transgressed thy commandments – nor have I forgotten them (Deuteronomy 26:13).

I pray for each and every one of you that you will continue to clearly hear the voice of Yahweh and be led by Him in the narrow way through these tumultuous times. Donate today!

In the early 1990’s, after decades of groaning and petition, the Jewish people of the former USSR were finally allowed to return to the Land of our forefathers. It is the Almighty Himself who is fulfilling His awesome plan right before our eyes, and as He returns us to the land, He is also restoring the ancient paths as He promised He would in the last days. In His Torah, He commands Israel to bring our tithes into the storehouse to feed the poor, who will always be with us.

Working with individuals and Messianic ministries on the ground in the land of Israel, The Lydia Project provides returning Russian Jewish immigrants with material and spiritual needs of every kind, including food, clothing, housing, financial help, employment, and vital assistance for those still coming out of Russia. Your tithes and offerings are greatly needed for the on-going work.  THE NEEDS ARE HUGE.  The more The Lydia Project is able to provide through your generosity, the more people can be directly helped.

Jeremiah goes on to say, They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, And they will be radiant over the bounty of the Yahweh – over the grain and the new wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd, and their life will be a watered garden, and they will never languish again (Jeremiah 31:12).

What Yahweh has in store for these Russian immigrants in the future are blessings, not lack.  After their season of lameness and blindness and weeping has ended, they will never languish again.  But for the moment, THEY NEED OUR HELP while they are being tested in the wilderness of great need.

Be a part of this awesome work of the Most High.  JOIN WITH US AND BRING THE WIDOW’S PORTION OF YOUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS INTO THE STOREHOUSE. Donate today!

In the early 1990’s, after decades of groaning and petition, the Jewish people of the former USSR were finally allowed to return to the Land of our forefathers. With assistance from the Jewish Agency and many other organizations (most of which were supported by Believers), they poured out of Russia in droves and headed for the Promised Land.  They are still coming today.  Coming from the depressed economy of Russia, these dear souls return to our ancient home with minimal funds and precious few possessions to their names.  They struggle in the midst of great hardship and severe lack to build new lives in a difficult economy and a foreign culture.

Language and cultural adjustments are made even more difficult by the high risks and costs of on-going political strife and terrorism.  When government subsidies run out, these new immigrants, some of them doctors and engineers, find themselves sweeping floors and working as security guards to provide for their families.  Some return to the known realities in Russia; others move on to other countries.  Today there are over one million immigrants from the former USSR living in Israel.  That amounts to approximately one-fifth of the entire Israeli population.

Some Russian immigrants have another burden to bear.  From the time the wall of oppression came down and the Word of Yahweh could be proclaimed in Russia, many Jews have become Believers in Messiah.  They, too, have made Aliyah.  Many have also come to know Messiah after they arrive.   Regrettably, however, Russian Believers in the land must endure persecution for their new faith by their own people.  THESE PRECIOUS PEOPLE NEED OUR PRAYERS, LOVE AND SUPPORT.

There are still known Jewish communities throughout the former USSR.  Many of these communities and individuals are living at the far reaches of regions to which they were scattered during periods of persecution by the communist regime.  These Jews, many elderly and ill, will require more assistance than the others to return to the land.  AND THEY NEED YOUR HELP ONCE THEY HAVE MADE ALIYAH!

Over the past three and one half years, The Lydia Project has been taking care of widows, orphans, the poor and victims of persecution and terror in the land of Israel. Your generous tithes and offerings have enabled us to distribute over $300,000. Helping Russian immigrants is only one of the many areas of ministry with which The Lydia Project is involved.

Thank you for standing with us and trusting us with the widow’s portion of your tithes and offerings, so that together, we can be the provision Yahweh ordained us to be. Donate today!

As a child, I heard of these stories whispered over and over of the bitter persecution stretching back across the centuries. Now, some question whether I am still Jewish, because I have accepted Yahshua as my Messiah.  Yes, I am Jewish before, now and always.  Many of my family died in this last century in the ovens of Germany or at the hands of men like Stalin and Mussolini all over Europe and Russia.  They died simply because the same Jewish blood that runs through my veins also ran through theirs.  My grandparents were forcibly driven out of Russia at the turn of the nineteenth century and came to settle America.  Every Passover of their lives, they prayed along with the rest of the Jewish communities in the diaspora, “NEXT YEAR IN YERUSHAYIM.”  It was not until two generations after they left Russia that I finally fulfilled their prayer when I came home to live in the ancient land of our people.

Today, I have seen with my own eyes the joy of people stepping off the plane from Russia and kissing the ground of the land they have also prayed to see.  The prayers of our ancestors – Mother and Daughter, Father and Son – Next Year in Yerushalayim.

Coming from the depressed economy of Russia, these dear souls return to our ancient home with minimal funds and precious few possessions to their names.  They struggle in the midst of great hardship and severe lack to build new lives in a difficult economy and a foreign culture.

What Yahweh has in store for these Russian immigrants in the future are blessings, not lack.  After their season of lameness and blindness and weeping has ended, they will never languish again.  But for the moment, THEY NEED OUR HELP while they are being tested in the wilderness of great need.

Be a part of this awesome work of the Most High. Join with us and bring the widow’s portion of your tithes and offerings into the storehouse. Donate today!

Let us tell you about one ministry that we are working closely with here in the Land. Three years ago, when Judith made her first trip to Israel on behalf of The Lydia Project, making the first contacts with the ministries in the Land that are working on the ground to minister to the poor, the widows, and the orphans, she met Ye’shi Reinhardt, who heads a very effective ministry of his own. Judith shared with Ye’shi about Michael’s ministry, A Rood Awakening, out of which The Lydia Project was launched, and they discovered that Ye’shi and Michael were both born near Greenville, Michigan. At that time, Michael’s ministry was based in Michigan, so Judith invited Ye’shi to visit the A Rood Awakening office. When he and Michael met, they discovered they had connections tracing back to their childhoods in Michigan.

The ministry Ye’shi leads, Hands of Mercy, is based in Sderot, an area under constant rocket attacks from the terrorists in the Gaza Strip; when the siren sounds, everyone in the community has fifteen seconds to get to a shelter. They live under this terror day and night, and many of the people Ye’shi ministers to are victims of these attacks, or have family members that have been injured. One of the ways in which Ye’shi’s ministry has helped poverty-stricken families in Sderot is by offering them jobs making tzitzits, which are then purchased by A Rood Awakening or The Lydia Project and sold to you. Many families are finally able to make a real living doing this, pulling themselves out of poverty and gaining skills that can take them into the future. They are receiving healing and hope where before there was pain and fear.

The Lydia Project is proud to give your donations to ministries like Hands of Mercy. We know that your tithes are going directly to people in desperate need. Thank you for helping us reach these families!

That “next year” for me came soon after my eighteenth birthday when I packed my bags and headed to Israel to labor in the fields of a kibbutz that would eventually be exporting fruits and vegetables to Europe and even as far away as Japan. The malaria swamps had been drained, the deserts were blooming, and I was laboring in the relative security of a banana plantation on the shores of the Mediterranean. Only occasionally did we have to duck into a bomb shelter as katusha rockets from neighboring Lebanon exploded in our fields, attempting to distract us from the goal of rebuilding our country. This was my time to do my part to rebuild my homeland, and I wasn’t about to let the red glare of  enemy rockets veer me from my commitment.

As a child in Hebrew school, I learned about the lives and exploits of Abraham, David, the patriarchs, and the prophets – yet as I sat in the synagogue, in my ruffled taffeta dress, lacey white socks, and black patent leather shoes, the image of Israel that landscaped my mind was that of rugged pioneer farmers struggling to till the soil and modern Israeli military heroes, like David’s mighty men of old, sacrificing to protect our infant nation against the enemies that surrounded her on every side, vowing to throw her into the sea.

Then, at eighteen years of age, upon coming to Israel, it was for me no longer a two-dimensional picture. I was walking the same land that Abraham and David walked. I had become a part of the entire history of the land of Israel.

Over the years, hundreds of thousands have come back to the land of Israel from all over the world – many fleeing death and persecution, escaping only with their lives. They came out of the Holocaust of Europe – with nothing! They came out of the crush of persecution in North Africa – with very little! They came out of Russia – with only a suitcase to their name. They came out of Ethiopia – bringing nothing with them but the clothes on their backs! Out of the economic collapse of Argentina they came – with nothing! And they are still coming.

They’re coming out of the growing pressure cookers of persecution and anti-Semitism in Europe and Asia, and they are even coming out of the affluence of America. But when they arrive, their stories all become one. They must be ready to fight, to bleed, and to die. They must be ready to suffer the loss of life and limb and loved ones. Like Abraham, who was called to leave the familiar surroundings of Babylon, they come in the midst of all the adversity because they know, as did Joshua and Caleb, that the Land of Israel is the Promised Land—the Land flowing with milk and honey—and it is somehow worth the price required.

The Lydia Project provides a way for you, the natural and grafted-in branches of Israel, to join together with us to obey the commandment to care for the widows, the orphans, and the poor in the land of Israel – especially the believers, for I too am now a follower of Messiah because someone shared with me in my hour of need.

Through your gifts to The Lydia Project, we are able to be the provision that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has ordained—the messengers who are sent by Heaven to feed and minister to the needs of those who are depending upon His tender mercies. If we don’t do “His will on earth as it is done in Heaven,” it won’t get done! Many are now locked in a desperate struggle for survival. They need our help!

The current circumstances of the needy Believers in the Land of Israel require the Body of Messiah to forge a much-needed relationship with our brothers and sisters in travail. And, knowing the commandments, we cannot ignore them. For those who bless Israel, The Almighty has promised to bless, and then we, in turn, can be a bigger blessing. Just as Paul took up collections among the believers in the first century to send to the needy believers in Jerusalem, we also must prepare our tithes and offerings for the same needs of the poor Believers that exist to this very day.

The Torah commands us to set aside a portion of our means for the widows, the orphans, and the poor. When we take care of “these,” we vicariously take care of the King of Kings. We all have the opportunity to hear these words of Yahshua on the Day of Judgment, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You knew me well, for you took care of me when you took care of the least of these.”

For those who have not returned to the Land, Israel is still very much a part of your lives, and you are a part of Israel, because, whether you were born into Israel of grafted in, YOU AND I ARE ISRAEL!

Won’t you help us as The Lydia Project steps up to the plate to care for the widows, the orphans, and the poor in the Land? It is a win-win situation. It pleases our heavenly Father when we give, and it pleases Him to bless the giver and the receiver both. Join the widow’s portion of your tithes with ours as we serve His divine plan to support the needy in Israel.

Thank you for your generous donations!

Shalom Aleichem,

Judith Rood

National Chairperson, The Lydia Project

This neighbor has three young children nine years old and under.  She welcomes the charitable offering from her son’s teacher, and she shares it with three other families in her building who are in the same circumstances.  Three of these families are single mother homes and one is an elderly couple.  All of them live on government support, which leaves them hungry at times.  It is, as Isaiah put it, a bed too short.  Together they survive.

Growing children get hungry, and these single mothers hope and pray for provisions to fill their cupboards that are often bare.

One day, a knock at the door brings bags of food.  Help has arrived.  These families receive the food with joy and thanksgiving.  It is a feast.  It is an answer to prayer.

And where did these bags of food come from?  They and many more like them came directly from you when I was able to deliver them to these needy believers.  Because of your faithfulness to keep the commandment concerning the widow’s portion and, even more so, because of your open heart to be a blessing to Israel, we are able to minister to the needy, and they receive it as if it comes directly from the hand of Yahshua Himself.

“…I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.”   WHY? Because Yahweh has mandated provision for the widows, the orphan and the poor.  What is that provision?  THAT PROVISION IS YOU…when you are faithful to His heavenly commandment to take care of the widows, the orphans and the poor.

Join us in our efforts as The Lydia Project brings food and help to the widows, the orphans, the poor and the victims of terror in the land of Israel.  Join the widow’s portion of your tithe with ours as we rise up to obey this commandment, which is so close to the heart of our Creator.

Thank you for helping us bring answers to the prayers of those who are crying out to heaven.

Shalom Aleichem,

Judith Rood, Director

The Lydia  Project

This is exactly what happened to a family just like yours who live in the town of Sderot. The predicament of being in such close proximity to the calamity of constant bombardment from across the border creates for the people of this town many hardships of bodily injury, death, property loss and devastating damage to their economy.

So many are suffering from the many effects of terror, violence and war in the Land of Israel. They are in desperate need of love and encouragement as they deal with the trauma of pain and loss. The effects are emotionally and physically devastating and often permanent. A gently touch or prayer brings courage and hope to these people during their trying times.

The Lydia Project is committed to helping provide for the desperate needs of those who suffer innocently in the Land of Israel.

Won’t you help us to help these innocent victims of violence?

Thank you for standing with us,

Shalom Aleichem,

Judith Rood
Director, the Lydia Project