6 | JULY 23 • 2020 

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n March, I was contracted 
to work with Yad Ezra on 
a variety of projects. What 
started as a focus on social media 
and marketing quickly changed 
in the frenzy of the COVID-19 
pandemic to a focus on client 
and volunteer 
communications 
and logistics. The 
feeling that “the 
world has gone 
crazy” was felt 
here. Everyone 
sensed that things 
were out of 
sorts — concerns about health, 
community, economy, politics. 
No one was exempted from the 
sense of uncertainty and anxiety 
around us. 
At Yad Ezra, we responded to 
the heightened needs of approx-
imately 1,250 client families, the 
extra stressors put on the staff, 
and we kept moving forward. 
We just did what needed to be 
done, understanding that food is 
not optional, and that we must 
do our best to make sure all our 

clients are cared for.
Now, as the rhythm of that 
work has evened out, I am glad 
to be able to turn some of my 
hours toward the broader com-
munications goals of the organi-
zation. Everything is now filtered 
through a kind of COVID sen-
sitivity, and we are keenly aware 
that it has affected many lives 
around the world. 
I was privileged to participate 
in a Zoom call with Yad Ezra and 
Rabbi Michael Schudrich, chief 
rabbi of Poland, and his col-
leagues. Schudrich became aware 
of Yad Ezra’
s work thanks to an 
introduction by Roz Lullove 
Cooperman, a good friend and 
colleague of the rabbi and Yad 
Ezra. Roz produced and directed 
“Yad Ezra, We Can Learn From 
You!” a dialogue with the rabbi 
 
when he visited the food pantry 
in July 2018 and became inspired 
by the organization’
s model. 
With the guidance of and 
fundraising by Yad Ezra, the 
rabbi established a kosher food 
pantry in Warsaw in early 2019. 

During the call, he shared their 
experiences from their first year 
in operation — it was a Zoom 
call worth sharing.
As the chief rabbi of Poland, 
Schudrich is the official interloc-
utor with both the Polish govern-
ment and the Catholic Church. 
Schudrich works to connect 
American Jewry with their Polish 
Jewish heritage, establish philan-
thropic relationships and care for 
the small Polish Jewish commu-
nity, spiritually and otherwise. 
During the past year, the food 
pantry in Warsaw has established 
itself so that, since the spring, it 
has been making approximately 
80 grocery deliveries a month. 

Remarkably, those deliveries 
are split into two groups. One 
group is to the roughly 40 Jewish 
families in Warsaw. Each family 
receives staples, including flour, 
sugar and grains, as well as 
additional items such as canned 
or jarred soup or vegetables, 
fish and tea biscuits. Without 
refrigeration and large storage 
facilities, the food pantry has 
managed to find ways to deliver 
supplemental food packages to 
Jews in need in the Warsaw com-
munity, and it delivered Passover 
food that allowed the Jewish 
community to celebrate the holi-
day. The food has been delivered 
throughout the COVID pan-
demic using taxis and volunteers. 
Most moving was the story the 
rabbi told of the second group 
of needy recipients of food from 
the pantry. There are approx-
imately 40 Righteous Among 
the Nations, non-Jews who 
helped to save Jews during the 
Holocaust, who currently reside 
in the Warsaw area. They are all 
elderly, and the pantry provides 
them a monthly food delivery. 
Remarkably, the connection 

Daniella 
HarPaz 
Mechnikov

Don’
t Paint with
Wide Brush
In his letter “Regarding the 
‘
Editor’
s Note - Healing 
Ourselves,
’
” (July 2, page 8) 
Edward Kohl presents a con-
vincing argument of why Black 
Lives Matter Foundation Inc. is 
anti-Semitic. However, he offers 
a troubling assertion: “We Jews 
helped start the NAACP and 
walked with Dr. King… When 
will they finally stand with us to 
support Israel?”
This is an abrupt shift from 
talking about the Black Lives 
Matter organization specifi-
cally to the Black community 
in general. We know that one 

organization no more represents 
the entire Black community than 
Michigan Jewish Action Council 
or J Street speak for the entire 
Jewish community. And we 
know and appreciate that many 
Black people have fought against 
and continue to speak out against 
anti-Semitism. Painting an entire 
population with the brushstroke 
of a sub-group is counterproduc-
tive to fighting racism. 

— Cheryl Berlin

Farmington Hills

Physician’
s Dilemma
One of the outstanding profes-
sions today is that of a physi-
cian. They have the daunting 

task to always do their best to 
keep people alive and healthy. 
Unfortunately, there is not a sig-
nificant financial compensation 
considering the many years of 
education, training and consid-
erable debt amassed, with what 
amounts to a small return upon 
investment. 
How do I know this? My 
son-in-law is the director of a 
residency program and assistant 
director of internal medicine. He 
has mentioned to me countless 
stories of physicians unable to 
meet their financial obligations.
Remember the old joke about 
doctors becoming plumbers for 
better income? There is some 

great wisdom in that old joke.
After a visit to a doctor, we 
should consider sending a thank-
you note of appreciation or send-
ing a donation in tribute to your 
doctor to have merit for his/her 
continued success as a healing 
messenger.

— Henry Friedman

Historian, Educator, Lecturer

Correction
The article “Visa Freeze” (July 
16, pg. 30) reported that the 
Michigan Immigrant Rights 
Center helps employers obtain 
immigrant visas. In fact, the 
MIRC only aids low-income 
workers.

LETTERS from page 5

continued on page 10

Krystyna 
Wišniewska

essay
We Are Together

