Double Triangle Foundation – From Bitter Lemon to Lemonade

You might wonder why I referred to lemons being bitter; usually lemons are considered sour. But actually, the word “bitter” is appropriate as the rind under the peel and the seeds are quite bitter. The point of the title is that we have the ability to create something positive and soften a bitter reality.

Sometimes something bad – even devastating – happens and we ask why? Now and then the answer is immediate. Your best friend is getting married and you miss your flight because of a road closure. You are distraught until you hear that the plane crashed.

Sometimes it takes a long time, even decades, to understand. You fail to get into medical school despite your high grades and hard work and go into business. Years later you are a multi-millionaire entrepreneur and are able to give enormous sums of money to hospitals and other tzedakah venues.

Sometimes the answer will be apparent in the Next World. During your lifetime you can only be sustained by your faith and belief that there was a purpose for a tragic, life-altering event. And there are those bereft by an unfathomable, irreversible loss who try to give deep purpose and healing for their extreme grief by creating something positive and life-enhancing for others. The senseless is given meaning.

Double Triangle Foundation is such an entity. It is an organization created by inconsolable grandparents, Debi and Meir Factor, of a reservist whose life was brutally cut short – a horrible loss not just for his wife, three children, his parents and three brothers, his friends and colleagues and the State of Israel, but globally.

Dr. Zechariah Haber was doing research that could eliminate food insecurity and starvation in countries where millions go hungry. He was completing a PhD at Tel Aviv University in plant science with a focus on growing wheat in drought conditions, working on increasing the seed size and its ability to survive in a harsh environment.

In his “down time” the young scholar taught himself several languages, including Arabic, Amharic, and Russian.

A graduate of Yeshivat Har Etzion, after he completed his army service, he returned to yeshiva and wrote a 1,000-page encyclopedia on the Talmud unbeknownst to his family, which was found on his laptop after he fell, and is currently being published by his parents, Aharon and Miriam Haber, entitled “Mincha Chadasha.”

Before and after Yom Tov, many individuals are inundated with requests for donations to help support various organizations. And indeed, when we say Yizkor, we promise to give tzedakah in the merit of beloved parents and others. But though we tend to be generous, we also are cautious about where are dollars are going. Typically, a not so small portion of each dollar ends up being used for administrative costs and salaries, and the amount going to the reason for the donation is unfortunately diluted.

Double Triangle Foundation is that rare organization where every penny goes directly for the purpose it was created for.

M.Sgt. (Res) Dr. Zechariah Pesach Haber, 32, HYD was killed in Gaza on January 16, 2024, when a missile hit his tank. Brave and modest, he had given up his position as a tank commander, “rolled up his sleeves” and became a tank loader so that he would be a peer to his tank mates. His widow Talia, stated that “he didn’t like being above people.”

The Double Triangle Foundation (the Magen David is a double triangle and an eternal symbol of the State and people of Israel) was founded in his memory by his devastated grandparents Debi and Meir Factor, and their associate Michael Rosenbaum, who helps procure the equipment. Its holy mission is to supply state of the art supplies and protective gear to reserve soldiers – those “older” former soldiers who are called up to supplement the number of regular soldiers. Because of the war, many were asked to leave their families, their jobs, their businesses, and their daily lives and put their lives on the line for extended periods of time. These reservists, doing miluim, often bring with them their outdated or damaged uniforms and equipment.

Double Triangle Foundation receives constant requests from the reservist units in the military for reinforced helmets, protective vests, boots, flame retardant uniforms, night vision glasses and medical supplies. One surgeon stationed in Gaza visited the warehouse to pick up his medical equipment and found the storage facility empty. The Foundation was able to supply with him with everything he needed to perform surgery in the field. Before the war, reservists had shorter and less frequent call ups, and their equipment was “good enough” for brief stints of activity. That is no longer the case.

Double Triangle uses every dollar they get to provide this life-saving equipment. They take no salary and even use personal funds when necessary. Debi Factor quipped that she told her children that she was “spending their inheritance!”

The Foundation also helps the families of injured and fallen miluim soldiers financially, and helps defray the cost of those retuning who need therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Foundation is a 501-C charity and all donors receive a receipt for aid tax purposes. For more information go to www.doubletrianglefoundation.org. The website contains videos from grateful soldiers thanking the Foundation for its help and generosity.