Giving Back

Coming to Israel for an extended time is like living here. Unfortunately, you're not entitled to that special bus pass or senior discounts unless you make aliyah.  Really though, being in Israel does feel like home, even if I can’t understand most of what people are saying.  So when we live somewhere and benefit from resources in the community, whether public or private, we have a responsibility to give something back.

Some of us also connect with Hashem (G-d) by serving others – this is what is expected of us. For me, it helps me understand my own relationship with Hashem. I recently read an article, The Jewish Response to Hunger, which gives traditional, compassionate and textual references to why we, as Jews, need to respond - as if we needed to justify it.

Someone recently asked me why I am spending my precious time in Israel volunteering when I’m here for such a short time. I explained my belief and values, and she replied “just by being here you’re giving back - to the economy - and we’re so appreciative of that”.  For me that’s not enough.

Yesterday I started helping at an organization called Meir Panim – the “Jewish Charity for the Hungry and Poor”, as it calls itself.   Here is it’s mission.

… to alleviate and diminish the harmful effects of poverty on thousands of families across Israel by supporting a range of food and social service programs aimed at helping the needy with dignity and respect, including free restaurants, meals-on-wheels, school lunch programs, prepaid food card distribution, vocational training and after-school youth clubs.

Meir Panim has a lot of similarities to Seattle’s Jewish Family Service, where I’m on the board of directors, in that it helps people that are challenged in providing for themselves. So it was natural for me to select an organization such as this.   

Lining up the trays and
keeping the food warm

I volunteered at the Jerusalem's Free Restaurant which is designed to look and feel like a restaurant.  There are currently six Free Restaurants in distressed cities throughout Israel.  There had previously been more but the economic downturn in 2008 forced closure of some. The hope is to begin increasing the numbers of restaurants again soon.

The Jerusalem free restaurant is open Sundays – Thursdays from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.  Anyone who is hungry can come and eat, any age, religion, culture... no questions asked.  Many of them come every day, and many bring containers to fill and take home. Still – no questions asked.

 

A well filled plate

The food is mostly donated, generally from restaurants where the quality standards are high.  When I was there yesterday the menu consisted of couscous, rice, an eggplant and vegetable stew, green beans, lamb shanks and chicken.  When the lamb and chicken were gone, out came Hungarian Goulash, and when that was gone out came more chicken.

The clients that came yesterday were fewer than usual – the weather was very warm and it was explained to me that when

there is extreme weather fewer people leave their homes and come out, even for food.  But even with fewer clients there was still an atmosphere of respect and appreciation.

There are only a few paid employees, most are either volunteers or people from the community that are doing this work to avoid judicial penalties - otherwise known as "community service".  Yesterday there was a father and son from Alaska that come to Israel every year to volunteer with disabled adults and also help out at Meir Panim.  Another volunteer, Jeff, has been volunteering here for five years.  Everyone, without exception, was warm and friendly to the diners.  

Scraping and stacking

The volunteers set up the room, bring food to the diners on trays with well filled plates, a roll and a cup for water. We also cleaned off and stacked dishes and trays when diners were finished.  

We provide a bit of social interaction with the diners as well, which is equally important. They don't feel like strangers, they feel welcomed and well fed in more ways than one.

My Hebrew got me through the day.  I could say Shalom, Mashlomech or Mashlimcha ("How are you" to a woman or to a man) and “At/ata rotzeh/rotzah lechem o mayim” (do you want bread or water)?  They often responded or asked for something I couldn’t understand but we worked it out.

Making sure I saw him

One man in particular let me go on and on trying to speak Hebrew and trying to make him understand, finally said clearly “I speak very good English”.  We both laughed.  See him below.   When he left he made sure that I saw him and waved goodbye.

Another woman who had asked me for some more rice (orez) and some extra rolls, was so appreciative that when she was leaving she came over and said “todah, todah, todah” (thank you…) and gave me a kiss on my hand.  I gave her a kiss on the cheek and she was thrilled.

There were several interactions like that, and it just warmed my heart to know that I gave something, whether it was rice, bread, words or just a smile, and made their day a little better.

I plan on continuing to volunteer at the free restaurant of Meir Panim every week that I’m in Jerusalem.