Pnina Souid
The Mitzvah Man relates that when he was first starting out, he learned the valuable lessons of strength in numbers and recognizing his limits. It started with one phone call.
A Call for Help
One summer day thirteen years ago the Mitzvah Man received a call from the friend of a woman who was blind who we’ll call Sarah. Sarah had seen an advertisement for the Mitzvah Man’s offer to do hesed. She had been invited to her friend’s 90th birthday party, and was looking for a ride. However, the Mitzvah man had to decline, as he was not in Brooklyn for the summer.
Sarah was very disappointed, but the Mitzvah Man offered to help her when he returned to Brooklyn after the summer, saying he would be happy to help her with her errands when he was back.
Sarah was delighted at the offer and started listing off her needs. “I need someone to make phone calls for me, order groceries to be delivered, make doctor appointments and take me there, among other things. Besides being blind, I have no family.”
The Mitzvah Man respectfully inquired as to why Sarah did not have a companion or home health aide. She had tried several! But none had worked out for her. The Mitzvah Man felt a little overwhelmed by the jobs she might have for him, but he promised that when he was back in Brooklyn, he would see how he could help her.
True to his word, after the Mitzvah Man was back in Brooklyn he went to pay Sarah a visit. She was living alone on the third floor of a three-story walkup in Coney Island. The building belonged to a yeshiva that occupied the first two floors.
Sarah was so happy to welcome the Mitzvah Man into her home. She knew just where everything was. She had been a true baalat hesed when she was able to see, giving tzedaka and helping people in need. Plaques covered her walls. Although she was blind she knew exactly which plaque was which and she proudly showed the Mitzvah Man a number of laudatory articles. She was familiar with each one was and clearly remembered what was written about her.
The Aha! Moment – Recruit Others
The Mitzvah Man pondered how he could possibly help Sarah with all of her needs. He was working alone, with no team of volunteers to help him. He realized that he could do so much more with the assistance of others. He offered a tefilla to Hashem asking for guidance. The choice was to continue working alone or to recruit other volunteers to join him. He felt Hashem telling him that the thing to do was to take his hesed work to the next level.
To accomplish that goal he placed an ad in the paper to create the Mitzvah Man organization. 20 volunteers answered the call.
Sarah now had a team of volunteers to help her. Team members got to work to make her phone calls and to set up her doctor appointments, and they visited her, as well. One of the volunteers accompanied Sarah to a wedding, helped her on to the dance floor, and danced with her. After the wedding she took Sarah home.
There were many phone calls to be made. A volunteer suggested getting Sarah a special phone that could be programmed, allowing Sarah to make calls just by speaking into the phone.
Another volunteer took it upon herself to take Sarah out for walks on nice days
One night Sarah experienced chest pains. She was able to reach Hatzalah on her voice activated phone. Hatzalah volunteers quickly came and transported her to the hospital. She was having a heart attack. The phone saved her life. Sarah lived another five years.
The modest beginning with 20 volunteers has blossomed into a vibrant team of 3,800 volunteers who answer the call to do hesed in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Deal, and Long Branch, New Jersey.