MIAMI – Faith. That’s all Alizah Silberstein and her husband Yisroel had when they survived for days with their nine children in a makeshift bunker in Ukraine.
“I really felt that god was with me all along and I kept reminding myself and my children that God is running the world,” she said. “It’s all God and he’s taking care of this.”
A photo taken from their window in Ukraine shows a plume of smoke following a missile strike.
“We felt like the crossing of the red sea,” said Yisroel Silberstein.
The family moved to Ukraine 12 years ago to set up a Jewish community in Chernigov.
“We feel we had a mission to help the Jewish people, wherever they are,” said Alizah Silberstein.
Last week they knew they had to leave the country they had called home for over a decade.
They only had time to bring one suitcase, but they focus on the blessings.
“Every time we light the candles, instead of a silver candlestick, we will count the blessings of every child who made it out,” said Yisroel Silberstein.
After 50 hours to make it out of Ukraine and days of travel, they arrived in Miami Tuesday night to a large group welcoming them home.
Alizah Silberstein’s family lives in South Florida
Now, the family of 11 must rebuild their lives after leaving the war-torn country with next to nothing, but they are a family of deep faith.
A GoFundMe page was created to help the family get back on their feet here in the U.S. which can be found by clicking here.