Initiative helps beef up IDF by giving soldiers jerky

When the “Hamassacre” occurred on October 7, Beit Shemesh resident Chaim Rutenberg, the director of QA for Genie Retail Energy who made aliyah from the United States a decade ago, and his wife Elisheva were hosting his newly married nephew and his wife. The nephew was called up to serve in the IDF (some 300,000 Israelis were enlisted in the first 100 days of the war), while his wife stayed with the Rutenbergs. As they experienced how “gut-wrenching” it was for the new bride, his nephew reported from the field that he was constantly hungry. 

Ten days into the war, Chaim Rutenberg sent beef jerky to his friend Kobi Tsarfati, who serves in the IDF Logistics Corps. “After some of his special forces units tried it, he tasked me with getting him more,” Rutenberg recalls. “Thanks to very dedicated vendors, we procured over 1,000 packages in two days.”

Elisheva Rutenberg, the regional director of Beit Shemesh baseball, which has 13 teams for ages seven to 17, came up with an idea. She and Chaim launched Beef Up Our Boys, which makes as much jerky as possible to distribute to IDF soldiers. Chaim contacted kosher butchers, asked local synagogues to create WhatsApp groups, found sponsors, and opened a fundraising page. The initiative has been a resounding success.

Making beef jerky and more for IDF soldiers

“We have created a huge market demand, assisted local vendors in scaling up, and in just the past few weeks local and international ventures are prepared to produce commercially or for charity tens to hundreds of thousands packages a week,” he says, revealing that the IDF is now planning to produce its own jerky. “Thanks to continued and growing sponsorships, Beef Up Our Boys hopes to provide tens of thousands of packages per week for free (each resealable package contains around 150 grams of sliced and dried jerky) to special forces and recovery units until the IDF can directly fill the need.”

When word of the initiative spread to the US, kosher butchers started sending cases of beef jerky to Israel. Chabad of South Coast MA [Massachusetts] dispatched kosher catch Alaskan salmon jerky, and portobello jerky for vegetarian soldiers. Rutenberg’s team currently delivers large quantities of jerky to IDF bases around Israel. 

Adding an intriguing dimension to the Rutenbergs’ endeavor is the Israeli ingenuity and innovation involved in the enterprise. 

“We’ve taken an artisanal product and created a local market that not only meets demand but also fulfills a critical need during challenging times,” Rutenberg says. “Recently we teamed up with established vendor and expert Yisroel Toker, and we’re now offering topnotch kosher beef jerky with a 10-month shelf life. The commitment from volunteers and an additional 10% discount from Mr. Toker add another layer to this remarkable story.”

What motivates Chaim Rutenberg? He says his brand of Zionism was influenced by his great-uncle Pinchas Rutenberg, who electrified the whole country by building a huge hydroelectric plant on the Jordan River a century ago; and his grandmother Irena Rutenberg, who established the Institute for Artisan Training in Safed four decades ago to teach immigrant artists. “Their stories have instilled in me an all-encompassing approach and a desire to fulfill a need,” he says. “Those involved in this project and I are blessed to have accomplished something amazing, and I hope it will be inspiring to others as well, encouraging them to utilize their ambitions to meet a need, be it for one person or many.

“This has been a true aliyah fulfillment, bringing an experience from the Diaspora combined with love, perseverance, and ingenuity. It has been energizing to be part of a community-wide effort to fill a real need and propel a marginally known product into a must-have tactical ration.”

People like Chaim and Elisheva Rutenberg not only boost the warriors fighting for Israel but also inspire others to emulate them. Bravo!

To donate, sponsor, volunteer, or request jerky for a particular army unit, go to www.beefupourboys.com.