IKAR

 

 

 GET INVOLVED WITH HESED AT IKAR!

We are all created in the Divine Image, and imbued with a quality that differentiates us from other creatures on this Earth - we would call it our humanity. We spend our lives cultivating that quality: cherishing it, defining it, sharing its nature with others. Yet, when a human being is hungry or struggles to find the money for a roof over her head, when a person loses a loved one, or is imprisoned by the pain of his illness - even when new parents are simply overwhelmed by the responsibility of the life that has been entrusted to them - then the sense of our own humanity can be obscured by the urgency of the moment.

Hesed is a way of restoring to others that which is by right theirs, that which they deserve, but has been temporarily taken from them. When we visit the sick, feed the hungry, or comfort mourners, we help them recover the knowledge of their humanity, the image of the Divine that is within them. There is no limit we can place on the value of acts of hesed.

How can I help?

We need you to deliver meals and Shabbat baskets to those in need in our community. Volunteers are organized by location, so you would be asked to help someone in your own neighborhood. For more information email , or to volunteer fill out this form.


 
What are they saying about Hesed?

"This has been an enriching experience for me. I have been able to do something meaningful for the community, and share in people's joy (at the birth of a child, a marriage, or a graduation) as well as comfort those who have lost a loved one or are recovering from an illness/accident. To see the gratitude on someone's face at the delivery of a Shabbat basket or a meal makes this task feel like an honor."
-Amy Levin, Hesed West Neighborhood Chair

"Seemingly by design, I get the Hesed call just when I feel I can't take on another task. But I force myself to re-organize my time. Stay up a little later. Drive during rush hour traffic. I pull myself out of the myriad, mundane tasks of my everyday life because time is truly of the essence. Surgeries, accidents, marriages, births, deaths, -- they are all luminal moments -- that extraordinary instant when a door opens or closes. It is during such moments when a small gesture such as a fresh-baked hallah, a hot meal, or a hug can truly change the tenor of an evening. To me, being there at these moments, I am not only offering a gift, on behalf of IKAR, to the recipient. Being part of Hesed is, equally, a gift IKAR gives to me. Nothing offers me a stronger awareness of G-d in the world than being there, in some small, good way, for fellow travelers during pivotal events in their lives."
-Andrea Nevins, Hesed East Neighborhood Chair

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