Pacific Jewish Center | Rabbi » compassion

I Am So Proud

rabbifink — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:48:39 +0000

Last year, there were a large number of public incidents that shed a negative light on Jews in general and particularly on Orthodox Jews. These events were not representitive of the average Jewish person, yet their notoriety put them front and center in the media.

It seems that the Earthquake in Haiti has marked a reversal of negative media coverage into more positive media coverage in response to more positive actions by Jewish people.

I noted last week that although the Jewish connection with Haiti is slim, there has been no shortage of Jewish efforts to aid the beleaguered people of Haiti.

It did not end with financial support. CNN has been reporting that the Israeli relief efforts were the quickest to respond and efforts were in full swing before any other country was set up. Israel was the first country with a field hospital in Haiti, Additionaly, the Israeli relief efforts have been reported as effective and efficient by CNN and others.

You can see video below of CNN’s coverage.

I am also proud to report that my uncle made the news with his personal work on behalf of Haiti.

Vosizneias is reporting that Rabbi Ronald Greenwald (Uncle Ronnie, to me) is spearheading a drive in many Monsey NY private Jewish schools (Yeshivas) to collect food and supplies to be delivered to Haiti. This comes on the heels of an unrelated visit to Haiti 6 weeks prior in which he was inspired to help the impoverished nation. Greenwald promised the members of the the Haitian community that he would meet with them and accompany them on a delegation to Washington if needed. That meeting was scheduled for January 19.

Uncle Ronnie is no stranger to projects of this nature. He has spent his entire adult life working on behalf of Jewish and non-Jewish causes. Those who know him or know of him are not surprised by this news. The only thing surprising is that some people think it is “news”. This is a typical anecdote in his accomplished life and we wish him more opportunities and more success for many years to come.

CNN Videos:

Jewish Relief Efforts For Haiti Earthquake Victims

rabbifink — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:29:43 +0000

In the wake of the tragedy in Haiti I write this post.

This post comes on the heels of my last post which quoted David Brooks and his admiration for the accopmlishments of the Jews. And now, we have an oppurtunity to show our stripes.

Haiti is not a very Jewish place. It is not frequented by business travelers or vacationers very often. Haiti never had a strong Jewish community. But in time of tragedy the Jewish community has a knack for stepping up to the plate and helping in the ways that we can.

The Talmud says that a hallmark characteristic of the Jewish people is that they are Rachmanim, compassionate. The response to the earthquake is an example of that compassion. There are a number of Jewish organizations that are raising funds for the relief effort. It would seem to me that to close our eyes to this opportunity would be a violent breach of rachmanus, compassionate action.

I am not saying you need to pledge your life savings or more than you normally give to poor people for charity. But it just seems to me that to ignore the plight of the thousands of people who are in desperate need is so callous that it would not befit a nation of Rachmanim.

Just think about the victims, look at the pictures, watch the video and you cannot help but feel compassion for these enfortunate victims.

Please do not hesitate to donate and help, even if it a small amount.

The idea is not so much that your miniscule donation with help alleviate this epic disaster. Rather it is inconceivable that a warm blooded, human being could not help those who are in such dire straights. If your gut is telling you that helping is the right thing to do, then follow your gut.

If your gut isn’t telling you to help, well, I find that hard to believe…

Please contribute to the Jewish Federations of North America and they will distribute the funds for relief efforts of the victims.

When Times Are Tough

rabbifink — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:09:34 +0000

The economic crisis has hit many families and individuals in different ways. This anecdote really hit me hard. Perhaps you will feel the same way.

We all know that money is tight for Americans all across the country. Los Angeles is no exception and even in the middle to upper class neighborhood where we live there are some disturbing signs of desperation. Sure, there are for rent signs all over the place and people are conscious about saving and reducing their expenses, but the most painful demonstration of the economic crisis that I have heard is so much worse.

Around the corner from our home is a Ralph’s Supermarket. (That’s like Pathmark and Shoprite for the east coasters, Publix for you southerners and Schnucks for you midwesterners.) We go there for many basic grocery items, but in the past they have been notoriously over priced so we would go to Trader Joe’s for anything that we could find there as the prices were much better.

Recently, Ralph’s has had some great sales and overall their prices have come down. Even their coupons have been more generous. One glaring example of an overly generous coupon is the buy one baby formula get another baby formula free coupon. Free! That’s a big coupon. The only problem with using that coupon is that the formula section is often bare.

Even early in the day, Ralph’s is often sold out of all the baby formula that they stock.

My wife decided to ask a Ralph’s stock person about the low stock of baby formula. The stock person said “yeah, it’s always like this now, the thing is that people aren’t even buying it, we will sometimes go through our entire stock of baby formula without making one sale. People have crying babies at home that need to eat, but they can’t afford the baby formula, so they’ve been stealing it. Kids and adults can get by on other stuff, even cheap stuff, but babies need formula…” (Now the 5$ coupons make sense, Ralph’s would prefer that they buy the formula for a deeply discounted price rather than steal it.)

(Ralph’s now has the formula behind lock and key to prevent theft.)

When I heard that, it brought me to tears. As I type it right now, tears form in the corners of my eyes. I cannot imagine how disheartening it must be to a parent who cannot afford to feed one’s family.

For those of us who have what we need, it is a call to reach out and help our friends and neighbors who are going through difficult financial times. It is heartbreaking to hear about these stories, but it is reality.

We all know people who need help. Let us all try and share what we have with those who don’t.