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Thanks to some Bay Area funding, Hanukkah is being made a little brighter this year at some Israeli army bases — with new mezuzahs ordered just in time for the holiday.

The Bay Area’s Taube Philanthropies and Friends of the IDF worked together with Polish Judaica design company Mi Polin (“from Poland” in Hebrew) to distribute 500 mezuzahs to bases around Israel. Taube paid for the mezuzahs, FIDF distributed them, and the designers at Mi Polin, based in Warsaw, provided them at a reduced price.

“When we learned through Friends of the IDF that many soldiers lacked mezuzot at their bases, we were inspired to help fill the need by sharing modern Polish Judaica with them,” said Tad Taube, chairman of Taube Philanthropies, in a press release. “We hope these will be a bright symbol to IDF soldiers that Jews elsewhere are thinking about them and are grateful for their service, and serve as a reminder of today’s vibrant Jewish culture in Poland, an Israeli ally.”

Taube Philanthropies is based in San Francisco, has an office in Warsaw and focuses its giving on the Bay Area and Poland. — j. staff