The FounderRabbi Naftali Rosenfeld z"l, founder of the home. He led it from 1949 until his passing.— The Story of a Door That Has Never ClosedOne home. Hundreds of girls.
One home. Hundreds of girls.
Held, every day, by thousands of partners.
Bayit Lepleitot began in 1949, when Rabbi Naftali Rosenfeld z"l - a Holocaust survivor who had lost his wife and four daughters - opened his Jerusalem home to twenty-four orphaned girls. Today, hundreds of girls grow up within its walls - and the home stands for one reason only: thousands of partners, from the philanthropist who carries a whole wing to the family that sets aside a few dollars a month, have never let go of its door. This is the story of the home - and of everyone who holds it.
— The full arc
Seventy-five years, in eight moments.
The story of Bayit Lepleitot has never been a straight line. It has been a door that opened in 1949 and never closed - even as the work kept growing in shape, in scope, and in the number of girls who needed it.
- 1949The Door Opens
Rabbi Rosenfeld takes in 24 girls.
In a small flat in Mea Shearim, Rabbi Naftali Rosenfeld z"l and his second wife open their home to twenty-four young Holocaust survivors - girls who had survived the camps and the marches and had no family to return to.
24 girls - 1969First expansion
Rabbi Samuel I. Stern joins.
Director appointed. The home grows from the founders' apartment to a proper residential facility.
- 1973Girls Town
A second campus opens - "Girls Town Jerusalem."
The flagship campus that still operates today is built. The vision shifts from emergency shelter to lifelong home - including school, vocational training, and matchmaking support.
~100 girls - 1985Second generation
Rabbi Moshe Yona Rosenfeld takes the reins.
Rabbi Naftali's son continues the work. The first cohort of girls from the 1949 home are now mothers themselves; many send their daughters back to volunteer.
- 2020Nivcheret
A program for the very youngest orphans.
Nivcheret launches: residential care for orphaned girls age 5+. Originally for 40 girls - now 200.
200 girls today - 2022Two new doors
Bishvilech and Beyachad - for divorced families.
Day programs for girls (Bishvilech) and boys (Beyachad) from divorced families. The home recognizes that the cycle of poverty doesn't only follow orphanhood.
600 children combined - 2024Third generation
Rabbi Chaim Elazar Rosenfeld becomes director.
The founder's grandson takes leadership. Seventy-five years after his grandfather opened the original door, the same family runs the same home.
- 2026Today
800+ children across four programs.
The home has graduated more than 4,200 girls since 1949. Twenty-three of them are now licensed social workers. One in four marries a husband she met through the home's Shidduchim system. The door is still open.
4,200+ graduates · 800+ today · 3 generations
— From the archive
The letters have yellowed. The promise hasn't.
Paper from the home's first decades: the original letterhead, and the recommendation of HaGaon Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth ztz"l, Chief Rabbi of Antwerp.
From the archive
HaGaon Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth ztz"l
Chief Rabbi of Antwerp · a letter of recommendation from the home's early decades
1950s
The home's original letterhead
"Bayit Lepleitot - Orphan & Refugee Girls Home, Jerusalem, Haye Adam St."
- Become family
$72 per month