8 | FEBRUARY 29 • 2024 J
N

PURELY COMMENTARY

opinion

Jewish Service Can Support 
Recovery Efforts in Israel and Sustain 
Jewish Life in North America
I

t’s not hard to feel a 
sense of despair in these 
extraordinarily difficult 
times for Jews in Israel and 
around the world following 
the horrors of Oct. 7, the 
upsurge in antisemitism close 
to home and the continuing 
loss of human life.
In times of despair, Jewish 
tradition offers us a path to 
hope, repair and connection: 
service. In times 
of brokenness, 
we are called 
upon to ask: 
“What can I 
do to make 
things better?” 
Through service, 
we can address 
the most pressing needs 
in our communities, build 
connections and restore our 
own sense of purpose. 
Since Oct. 7, we have 
seen an unprecedented 
mobilization of mutual aid 
work in Israel. Volunteers 
are meeting urgent needs: 
identifying housing for people 
who have been displaced, 
running schools for displaced 
children and supporting 
farms that have lost their 
agricultural workers. People 
are cooking meals for soldiers, 
displaced neighbors and 
families impacted by the 
call-up of army reservists. 
In the early days of the 
war, numerous volunteers 
mobilized to collect, organize 
and distribute everything 
from food and toiletries to 

mobile phone chargers and 
clothing for those who needed 
it.
Service has a critical, long-
term role to play, not just 
in this time of crisis and in 
supporting recovery efforts in 
Israel, but in sustaining Jewish 
life and community in North 
America. 
American Jews, too, 
have turned to service as a 
meaningful response to the 
crisis. At Repair the World, 
the organization I lead, the 
number of Jews turning to 
Jewish service since the start 
of the war has surged. Some 
have organized supplies to 
directly support Israelis and 
others have contributed to 
their own communities. 
Some are seeking out Jewish 
community because they 
are feeling less comfortable 
in other spaces. Others cite 
the rise of antisemitism and 

the importance of building 
bridges with their neighbors. 
All are looking for a way to 
find meaning and purpose.
For almost 15 years, 
Repair the World has been 
mobilizing Jews to serve, 
grounded in the idea that 
through service we can 
both strengthen our Jewish 
community and also make 
social impact. Our research 
clearly demonstrates that 
meaningful acts of service, 
grounded in Jewish learning 
and designed to address 
true community needs, 
can transform people and 
communities.
In Israel, several 
organizations, most notably 
Birthright Israel, MASA and 
Yahel already have mobilized 
Jews from North America to 
volunteer in Israel. This work 
should expand dramatically 
in the coming months. We 

know that service is one of 
the most powerful ways to 
build bridges across lines of 
difference. By volunteering 
in Israel in partnership with 
Israelis, American Jews can 
contribute to Israel’s recovery 
while building meaningful 
connections with their Israeli 
counterparts, deepening their 
own connection to Israel 
and providing a spiritual 
boost to Israelis by showing 
them that world Jewry is 
with them. Serving in Israel 
also can inspire an ongoing 
commitment to service once 
volunteers return home, 
which is a meaningful way for 
them to continue to live their 
Jewish values. 
We must ensure that the 
American Jewish service in 
Israel holds true to what we 
at Repair the World have 
learned is most effective: that 
the service meets real needs, 

Cindy 
Greenberg
JTA.org

PHOTOS FROM REPAIR THE WORLD.

Repair the World 
volunteers pack meal 
kits in Chicago. 

