Chesed Corner
Chesed means Kindness
As you may have noticed, we've changed our name-the committee formerly known as Tikkun Olam has been re-branded "The Chesed Committee." Why, you may ask - I'll let Wikipedia explain:
"The Hebrew noun khesed or chesed is the Hebrew word for "kindness." It is also commonly translated as "loving-kindness," or "love." Love is a central Jewish value, and leads to many particular commandments. Chesed is central to Jewish ethics and Jewish theology. Many Jewish thinkers view chesed as the primary virtue, and Kabbalists also view Chesed as a name of God and as one of the sephirot." (from Wikipedia.org)
In a recent meeting with Rabbi Havivi, he spoke of his interest and goal of "making service the identifying mark of the Jewish People." I think he and I feel - and we hope you agree - that Chesed touches more deeply the desire to help, serve and support our partners on spaceship earth. While Tikkun Olam speaks to our desire to fix things and to support the social fabric of which we are all a part - something Chesed does as well - I believe a term focused on kindness and pursuing virtue should guide our efforts.
To this end, I want to highlight three goals that Rabbi Havivi and I spoke about in early December.
- First, this Committee seeks to raise our Kehilla's consciousness about Chesed and to begin providing education and support about Chesed and Chesed needs.
This first goal will be supported by the second two:
- Finding a few, new congregational Chesed projects and finding niche projects for individuals in the congregation.
Having additional key projects on which we work annually will give our congregation a goal to shoot for and exceed each year.
For example, Rita Moskowitz does wonderful work managing the food collection at Beth David. By creating an annual goal in 'pounds collected' as well as a specific goal around the High Holidays, we can sustain and grow our annual giving to people in need.
- However, sometimes individuals just want a project of their own or that a few friends can get involved in. By creating a list of Chesed projects and organizations that need help - whether in time, money or exposure - the Chesed Committee wants to make it easy for everyone to get involved.
My goal will be to create a list at our website of project ideas and organization contact information so that it is easy to browse, select and get involved. Having many choices right at your fingertips, I hope, will enable many more to contribute their time and energy to Service.
As the Chesed committee gets additional momentum, we will keep the Beth David community updated on our progress, recognize volunteers, and strive to make Chesed an important part of both our Jewish and Greensboro communities. To learn more about service in the Jewish community, take a look at www.werepair.org
Call to Action: If you are interested in helping create new ideas for Beth David Chesed projects, we'd love your help. On Sunday, January 22, from 10:00 am until noon, we'll spend time brainstorming ideas for new projects. Once you've experienced the fun and meaning of this important work, if you'd like to be part of the committee, we'd love to have you. RSVP to Jeff Fulton at jc_fulton@hotmail.com.
L’Shalom,
Jeff
