MITZVAH HERO

ALL GUTS No GLORY

,

DO-GOODER
CARRIES
OUT GOD'S
COMMANDMENTS.

WRITTEN BY KIMBERLY LIFTON
PHOTOS BY GLENN TRIEST

he's 82; she's fast, and
she's been doing
mitzvot ever since she
was 12 years old.
Rebecca Blumenfeld is
constantly on the go — cook-
ing for those who are too ill
to prepare meals for them-
selves, escorting fellow
seniors to doctors' offices
and often scheduling
appointments for them.
"I like to give," she says.
"But we don't show off."
At the Jewish Federation
Apartments in Oak Park,
Mrs. Blumenfeld phones
neighbors who need
reminders to take medica-
tion. She translates for
Russian immigrants. And
though she does not drive a
car, she walks or takes a
bus to the local grocery

store to shop for residents
who are too sick or too weak
to do the task themselves.
"You often see her carry-
ing a laundry basket to or
from the laundry room,"
says resident Albert Lipton.
"Chances are that the laun-
dry is not her own but that
of a handicapped neighbor."
She plays cards with resi-
dents in need of a little com-
panionship. She tidies up
apartments, and s-he takes
out trash.
"Although Becky seeks no
glory for her mitzvahs, she
can't stop the people around
her from noticing her good
deeds," Mr. Lipton says.
"I feel like 39 or 40," Mrs.
Blumenfeld jokes. "There's
no time to stop. Not me. I'm
on the go. I hope until my

last day I will be helping
people."
A grandmother of 17, she
also has eight great-grand-
children. She hopes to live
to see all of their b'nai mitz-
vah ceremonies and their
weddings.
"With God's help, I will
get to 100."
Each day, beginning
about 9 a.m., Rebecca
Blumenfeld walks through
the halls of the Jewish
Federation Apartments. She
wears a plain dress and a
floppy old white hat, armed
to cook, clean or help a
senior into an elevator.
"Becky is a driven
woman. She is impelled to
do at least one good deed
every day," Mr. Lipton
explains. "She knows by