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November 22, 2002/Kislev 17 5763, Vol. 55, No. 13
Ongoing chances for tikkun olamCATHY WOLFThe dictionary defines volunteer: to perform or offer to perform a service of one's own free will, to do charitable or helpful work without pay. During the last several months, I have had the opportunity to work side by side with many incredible volunteers, individuals who are committed to Israel, committed to children, committed to our community and committed to each other.Our Jewish values teach us the importance of tikkun olam, making the world a better place. It's a value that's so inculcated in our Jewish culture that even in the most secular of families, this tradition is passed down to the next generation. I grew up in an unaffiliated home, led by first-generation parents who wanted to be "American." Religious ritual and observance were rare in my home as a child, but the value of helping others was never lost. There was always a hand for the neighbors, a political campaign in which to get involved, a clothing drive, a food drive or some other way to help someone. As an adult when I began my own journey through Jewish studies, I came to realize why this ideal was so strong in my home. Today, I continue to value this ideal. I hope that I have modeled those ideals to my children, to my friends and to others. The past several months have been unique with volunteer opportunities, from spending one afternoon with a friend whose son was in an emergency room on his college campus, to visiting a seriously ill friend in the hospital, to the overwhelming response of volunteers at the Ben Yehuda Mall Comes to Greater Phoenix. I am fortunate in my work to be able to organize opportunities for others to get involved in ways that make a difference: the Jewish Community Relations Council Literacy Project that places volunteers in the schools to work with children who often have no one to read to them at home; the Ben Yehuda Mall project and other upcoming projects that help the economy and those Israelis who are suffering from ongoing terrorism; and now the community Mitzvah Day. Mitzvah Day affords each of us the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of tikkun olam, the opportunity to teach our children its value and the opportunity to make a difference. Projects on that day will touch the lives of many in the Jewish and the non-Jewish community. When we accept the responsibility of repairing the world, there are no boundaries of where our responsibility ends, not at the door of our home, not at the door of our community and not at the border of our country. Give a few hours on Mitzvah Day, Dec. 8, to "perform a service of one's own free will, to do charitable or helpful work without pay." But let Dec. 8 only be a beginning. Cathy Wolf is the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, contact the JCRC at 480-634-4900 ext. 1108. |
