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Hesed
Helpers -- How To Help
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me,
but if I am only for myself what am I?
-
Pirkei Avot
About
the Hesed Helpers -
The
Hesed Helpers is a group of SHJC congregants who
volunteer to help others through acts of kindness.
Please join us!
Among the good deeds that we may do are offering rides to those
who need help getting around, visiting nursing homes, running errands,
making minyans, giving caretakers a break by staying with someone who
needs care or assistance at home, welcoming guests into our homes for
Shabbat hospitality, and visiting hospital patients.
As Rabbi Jacknis has written, “the list [of hesed
activities] goes on and on and on. These however are just a few examples
of the many possible acts of hesed that [we] can do. The
possibilities are as endless as our . . . imagination and the goodness
in our heart[s].” (Click this
link to read
the complete text of Rabbis Jacknis’
article about the Hesed
Helpers.)
If every member of the congregation contributed just one
hour to visit a nursing home or to participate in one minyan or gave one
ride to someone who needed it, we could accomplish so much.
In addition to helping each other, the Hesed Helpers
was established to help Rabbi Jacknis, who is often called to provide help or
support.
Accordingly, we are seeking to create a “Hesed
Hotline,” a list of congregants who can be on call when
assistance is
needed. Please add your name to the Hotline. When a request
comes in, a member of the Hesed Helpers will call
to see if you can offer your time and services. If you can, great!
If the time is not good for you, not to worry and certainly no
obligation.
To join the Hesed
Helpers and / or add your name to the Hesed Hotline,
please call or e-mail Allen Hecht (631-424-1922, hesed@shjc.org).
Finally, if you or someone you know needs assistance in any way,
of course, please call or e-mail today. Confidentiality is
assured.
CURRENT
HESED PROJECTS
SUPPLIES FOR THE CUBAN JEWISH COMMUNITY
This
coming January, our member (and Past President) Maxine Peresechensky will be traveling
on a Mission to Cuba, and she is putting together a major
donation of the supplies and items most needed by the Jewish Community
there. If you would like to donate any of the items on the list, please
contact Maxine (max0152@optonline.net
or 516-931-6393). Donations are requested by December 31, and can be
brought to the SHJC Office. Maxine would also be happy to pick
them up directly from you.
Requested items include:
-
Prescription Medicines
of any kind - All medicines must be current as expired medications are not allowed into Cuba.
Partially used bottles of pills are okay.
-
Non–prescription Medicines
and Drugs – Any over-the-counter medicines and drugs,
adult and pediatric vitamins, Band-Aids, antibiotic creams, anti-fungal creams, etc.
-
Personal
Hygiene Products - For
example, dental products such as toothpaste, brushes, denture creams;
sanitary items such as pads and tampons; toilet paper, shampoo, soap, etc.
-
Clothing
- suitable for warm weather – in new or almost new condition,
underwear for men, women, or children
-
Miscellaneous items –
such as pens and pencils, writing pads, school supplies, samples of
cosmetics, batteries, candles, Sweet & Low, sugar-free hard candies
-
Reading and Religious
materials - prayer books in Hebrew and Spanish, Jewish children’s stories in
Spanish, coloring books, Judaica items (especially kippot)
-
Canes, walkers and old eyeglass frames
BIKUR
HOLIM
Announcing
our newest initiative, Bikur Holim, visiting the
ill. If you or someone you know is ill and would like a visitor, please send the
information (name, hospital / health facility, telephone number) to bikurholim@shjc.org. The information must be received by end of the day on Tuesday.
It will then be published in the weekly e-Notice.
Hesed
Helpers hospital notification coordinators, Suellen Sommer (left) and Nirit Holtz (right)
with Executive Vice President and Hesed Helpers Coordinator Allen Hecht.
Hesed Helpers t-shirts are here! For only $10.00, you can look fashionable while you perform acts of hesed.
Please order your's today -- all proceeds go back to the Synagogue. Contact Al Hecht
at hesedevp@shjc.org.
Executive Vice President and Hesed Helper Al Hecht
presents Rabbi Jacknis with his Hesed Helpers t-shirt.
From
Rabbi Jacknis -
I would like to tell you about a new initiative in the South Huntington Jewish Center - the
“Hesed Helpers.”
Who are the “Hesed Helpers?”
“Hesed Helpers” are people in our congregation who are volunteering to help others through simple acts of kindness in the best spirit of the Jewish tradition. (“Hesed,” for those of you who may not be familiar with the term, means “deeds of kindness and caring” or “acts of loving kindness”.) The Jewish tradition tells that the Torah begins and ends with deeds of loving kindness. The Torah begins with deeds of kindness when God provides clothing for Adam and Eve. The Torah ends with deeds of kindness when God Himself sees to the burial of Moses. We are taught to follow in God’s footsteps and to do deeds of kindness whenever and wherever possible.
Over the last few years our congregation has taken great strides in the practice of
hesed - by the students in our Religious School and by our adults. Under the direction of our Family Educator, Phyllis
Pellman, all of our Dalet Students participate in the
“Dalet Hesed Corps” and actively undertake projects of kindness, caring and charity in our synagogue community and beyond. (If you want to learn about some of their special projects join us at services on Friday night, April 8th as we honor the students of this year’s
“Dalet Hesed Corps.”)
Our adult members as well have been active in deeds of hesed. Hesed Coordinator Allen Hecht has worked with a small group of volunteers to do a variety of deeds of kindness in our community - offering rides to those who need rides, visiting nursing homes, offering support and assistance to those who may be in need, and in many other small acts of kindness. We are now trying to take the practice of
hesed in our congregation to a new level with this new initiative and we need your help. We are asking you to join the
“Hesed
Helpers.”
The “Hesed
Helpers” will continue to assist our congregants who may need rides to doctors’ appointments, to synagogue, to go shopping, etc.
I am proud to say that a number of our members have been assisting our Rabbi Emeritus, Morris Shapiro, by picking him up from the train station on the days that he teaches at the Jewish Theological Seminary and bringing him to his home at the Gurwin Assisted Living Facility in Commack. This is a wonderful example of what we are trying to do.
“Hesed
Helpers” give caretakers a break by staying with someone who needs care or assistance at home. Other members of our community have welcomed guests into their homes for Shabbat hospitality. Some people have fulfilled the mitzvah of
bikur holim (visiting the sick) in hospitals, rehab or nursing homes. Other people have volunteered to help make a minyan either at a house of shiva or at the synagogue itself.
Some people have delivered Shabbat and holiday meals or meals for a house of
shiva, hamentashen for Purim, hallot for Shabbat, apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah and turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Still others have invited people to their home for the sedarim for Pesah (hint, hint).
Obviously the list goes on and on and on. These however are just a few examples of the many possible acts of
hesed that one can do. The possibilities are as endless as your own imagination and the goodness in your heart.
People often call me in need of help or support, but I find that with a congregation of our size I simply can’t do it all.
I need your help. Please volunteer to help others in our community through simple acts of kindness.
You don’t have to do it all - just a little here and there. We just need a few more people “on call.”
If you would like to help us, please let me know (631-271-9432; rabbi@shjc.org) or e-mail our
“Hesed Helpers” Coordinator Allen Hecht at hesed@shjc.org.
ah@aol.com
May God bless you in advance for your kindness and compassion.
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habaim!habaim!