This was a fun one!  When Maddie and I were out and about, I decided to feed all of the expired meters.  It was a low cost but fun way to do an anonymous mitzvah.  I hope the drivers were happily surprised when they returned to their cars!

One of my volunteer commitments is to the Wolf Performing Arts Center.  Wolf PAC has been a wonderful community for Madelyn.  She has performed in numerous shows with them, and has participated in the multi-year and international Butterfly Project.  Maddie’s participation with Wolf PAC has given her way more than she has given.  The staff has been warm and welcoming at a time when there were not many places where she felt welcome.  The other kids have given her a community that is nonjudgemental and accepting when the school social scene was not ideal.

Not only do I support them financially, but more importantly, I try to support them with my expertise and time.  I am on the Board of QUILT (Quirky Individuals who Love Theater), and I’ve tried to help by using my organizational skills.  This week, I have been working on researching and clarifying  a list of organizations who are involved in the autistic community, as well as a similar list of potential donors.  The hours that I have put in to these documents are many, but the rewards I have gotten from Wolf PAC are many, so we’re even!

“Naches” is the yiddish word for the pride a parent feels when their child has done something they are proud of.  It’s the best feeling to have naches as parents, but it is even better when you can share it with your friends who are just as happy as if it were their own child.  That’s what I did tonight.  My close friends’ daughter was being honored by Chabad of the Main Line (I’m not putting up a picture of her as I’m trying to keep this anonymous).  I’ve known her since she was about two and I’ve seen her grow up into a bright, kind, and caring teenager.  She deserved every bit of her honor, and I was so proud to be able to join her friends and family on this special day.

This mitzvah is dedicated to my father, Ralph Heiman.  Dad was born in Israel in 1938.  He lived there during a time of chaos, both within his country and within his own home.  I grew up hearing stories about life in Israel and on the kibbutz, but I never really understood or appreciated the context surrounding his childhood.  Recently, I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of the AABGU Zin Fellows Leadership Program,  involving an “in-depth immersion into the issues involved in the continuing development of the Negev – the region’s history, topography, geography, demography, sustainability, and its unique place in the unfolding development of the State of Israel.”  Our first meeting in Florida just concluded and I cannot believe how much I learned, and what a deeper understanding I have about Dad, and who he is and who he has become.

Pioneer: pīəˈnir/ noun  a person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area.  Dad was truly a pioneer.  When he moved to the Hatzerim Kibbutz in the Negev around 1952, there were no settlements there!  The only people there were the Bedoin.  Throughout my classes, I gained a much deeper appreciation of what it meant to be an Israeli scout, just a teenager, living in a desert with no infrastructure.  I understood for the first time the political climate, and the strong commitment to building a Jewish home that has echoed throughout his life.

The lectures and readings have raised many questions and fostered a new type of communication between us – Dad, were you there when Ben Gurion spoke to the teens in Tel Aviv? (No, but I delivered flowers to his house for Rosh Hashanah and Paula answered the door!)  What was it like to be in Tel Aviv when Israel finally became a State?  What was it like to live under the British Mandate?  As a Zin Fellow, I am able to connect with my Dad in a new, deeper way. It’s been wonderful to honor my Dad while I still have him in my life.

A few weeks ago, a friend’s house caught on fire and there was much damage.  The family had to move out, find a new place to live temporarily, and still manage to work and raise their family.  All this while planning a Bat Mitzvah!  I was wracking my brain about how I could help, and as I saw all of the generosity from our community pouring in, I realized that I could use my organizational skills to help them!  I offered to keep track of all of the donations that they have received – gift cards to stores, restaurants, clothing, food, etc.  For me, it’s nothing to keep an excel spreadsheet for when they are ready to thank their supporters.  For them, it’s one less thing they  have to worry about.  A win win all around!

Today, Jordan and I performed one of my favorite mitzvot of delivering food to the needy in our community.  14,700 volunteers yearly help JRA deliver food every month to over 3200 families in the Greater Philadelphia region who are food insecure.  Once again, the Jewish Federation is one of the organizations that financially supports them.

We spent the morning at the JRA warehouse packing boxes of food.  The boxes were filled to the brim, with fresh apples, hamentashen, cereal, soup, canned veggies and fruit, tea and coffee, etc.  Then we loaded our car with 13 boxes and delivered them to the Brith Shalom House on Conshohocken Ave in Philly.   Our recipients were every shape, color and religion and they were all elderly.  A few were clearly lonely and just wanted someone to talk to.  All were appreciative of the food.  It was great to do this mitzvah as a team with Jordan and we both felt great when we finished our route.

On Purim, it is a mitzvah to deliver two items of food to at least one person.  There are two reasons for this.  First, Mishloach Manot is translated as “sending of portions.” You want to make sure that everyone has their “fair share/portion” for the Purim feast.  Second, it is meant to increase love and friendship between Jews, thereby dismissing Haman’s accusations that there is strife and dissention among Jews. Unlike other gifts, this should NOT be anonymous, because that does not increase love and friendship between two individuals.

Today I did my traditional Purim mitzvah.  I went to Beth Am and organized items for the kids to pack the community Mishloach Manot bags:  I packed up hamantashen, opened boxes and labeled bags.  Then I packed the bags that I was giving to friends and delivering in the community.  Finally, I delivered my bags.  It was such a satisfying mitzvah, knowing that the recipients would enjoy their treats!

This is my Tribe.  It’s not my “Jewish” Tribe – in fact, most of them are not Jewish!  It’s the Tribe of women with whom I have been exercising with every morning, usually at 8:15 am, the women who push me to work harder, who encourage me when I’m not feeling strong, who partner with me even though I am definitely not going to help their time.  We are all so different, yet we share this common bond.  This is the Tribe that I had over for Shabbat dinner.  In Judaism, Hachnasat Orchim, or Welcoming Guests, is a mitzvah that began when Abraham opened up his tent wandering strangers.  I love to open up my home to guests, feeding them delicious food, plentiful wine and warm company.  It was especially fun to share my homemade challah with 10 terrific, fun, fabulous women – which everyone ate, despite our current “weight loss challenge”.  What a fun night!

In Judaism, giving Tzedakah, or charity, to the needy is one of the most important values by which we live.  It is a mitzvah, and standard practice for many Jews, to give 10% of your net income to charity.  Maimonides said that there are eight levels of giving charity.  At the highest level, Level One, one gives so the other is no longer dependent on charity (he may help him find a job, for example.)  Level Two involves giving anonymously, where the recipient does not know the giver and vice versa.  Today I did just that.  A friend posted on Facebook that her friend was struggling financially and even had to sell her Shabbat candlesticks to pay bills.  What??  After seeing a few posts about this family in dire straights, I sent them money through Pay Pal.  I don’t know them, they don’t know me, and they live in Israel!  But I could easily take the burden of one bill off of them, so that’s what I did.  I know it was just a drop in the bucket, but I hope it helped financially and also emotionally, to know that there is another Jew out there who cares what happens to a family in need.