Pnina Souid
A special Shabbat food program for needy Holocaust survivors was in danger of shutting down due to lack of funding. However, one Mitzvah Man volunteer, doing one small act of hesed, lead the way to others getting involved. “Mitzvah goreret mitzvah,” one mitzvah brings about another. One small act and the forging of a connection can snowball. And, how it did! Below is a letter of thanks from a dedicated social worker at the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island. What a beautiful expression of hakarat hatov for the Mitzvah Man Organization, whose volunteers step up to the plate to help those in need, all with compassion and joy in doing hesed.
Dear Mitzvah Man and Lillie,
Please forgive me for not writing sooner. My colleague at JCCGCI, Sarala Lieberman, and I wanted to thank you. I know that you do a lot of things, both big and small. You have provided the Holocaust survivors in my program major household appliances and other big-ticket items. However, as you have said in your Erev Shabbat audio messages, it’s the small things that lay a foundation for something bigger. And you never know what Hashem will bring unless you make an effort to do your part.
At the start of Covid in 2020, many of the Holocaust survivors and senior clients whom we service needed tasty, better food, especially for Shabbat. We still had funding from the Leader Family Fund and the IAC (Israeli American Council) also sponsored Shabbat food for quite some time in Brooklyn.
During that time, a Holocaust survivor, Mrs. Dora Marcus, isolated due to the pandemic, requested food. She asked me if the Mitzvah Man was still in business. I emailed the Mitzvah Man and in under a minute he recruited the nicest volunteer, Judy Bassali, who cooked food for Mrs. Marcus and visited with her, giving her the company she had longed for.
Judy’s hesed was so appreciated. I called her to thank her, as the Mitzvah Man always stresses “to treat each volunteer with love and respect.”
About two weeks later, Judy told me, “I have a friend, Jazzie Einalhori, who owns a restaurant called Sage Kitchen. Jazzie would like to give a few Holocaust survivors meals, as she has wanted to help this population for a long time. Jazzie cooked for three Holocaust survivors that week. She was assisted by her partner Rachel Fuchs. The next week Jazzie offered to cook for ten survivors and even had her partners drive to Brooklyn to make deliveries.
Steven Galapo, another Mitzvah Man volunteer, then offered to match ten for ten.
At the same time, our other Shabbat food funding was running out. I spoke to Jazzie about this. She took it upon herself to fundraise and advertise awareness for our Holocaust survivors’ Shabbat Food program. She cooked and fundraised for many months.
Adi Heyman and Esther Soleimani, activists with a grassroots group in Manhattan called “Me for We” stepped in and met with Jazzie, and the staff at the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island (JCCGCI)/Holocaust Survivor Support Services (HSSS).
Baruch Hashem, Me for We stepped in and saved the project. Until today, Me for We and JCCGCI/HSSS collaborate to serve seventy plus needy Holocaust survivors who either cannot afford to pay for food or cannot cook for themselves. We provide food and ongoing visits. Many friendly relationships have resulted from this initial hesed.
Other donors provided food as well, such as Alenbi restaurant. “The Well” (in memory of the Sassoon children) stored food and served as a pickup site. Many others were motivated to donate, including the Leader and Cayton Family funds.
Currently, our caterer is Tov u’Mativ, who kindly offer us a discount. The food is delicious and the volunteers who pick up for delivery are greeted with warm smiles.
So many donors and volunteers got involved, following in Judy Bassali’s footsteps, and have gained from their volunteering experience both emotionally and spiritually. It is truly amazing!
I believe the program would have disappeared after the first year when funding ran out if the Mitzvah Man had not responded so swiftly. What got the ball rolling was one small act performed by one volunteer, Judy Bassali, to reach out to one survivor, Dora Marcus. If that hadn’t happened, all the other connections would never have materialized!
Tizku l’mitzvot!
Elisheva Lock MPA, LCSW
Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island (JCCGCI) Holocaust Survivor Support Services (HSSS)