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.