Community Magazine November 2012

To volunteer for the mitzvah man go to www.mitzvah -man.org or call 347-275-1490 The Judgment Day Mitzvah A call came into Mitzvah Man headquarters before Rosh Hashanah about a 74-year-old man in a wheelchair who would be unable to make it to kinees on his own during the holiday. Wanting to pray with the congregation, the elder needed someone to wheel him to and from kinees on both nights and both days of Rosh Hashanah. MitzvahMan immediately got to work, sending a text message to 100 volunteers, asking if anyone was available either day or night, adding “Imagine going into judgment day with a mitzvah like this”. Within minutes, three young heroes responded. The first one said that he wanted to handle all the trips to and from the kinees on both days and nights, while the other two hoped to sign up for one day or night. Mitzvah Man asked the first responder to split the mitzvah, but he insisted on handling it all by himself. When the Mitzvah Man asked why, the hero explained that he felt that he really needed this merit, and the Mitzvah Man’s text really inspired him. And so, with the Mitzvah Man’s help, the elderly man happily prayed with his congregation throughout the holiday, while a young hero started the new year with a great mitzvah. Creating the Shabbat Experience Four years ago, Mitzvah Man received a call about a local senior living home where the residents generally spent Shabbat alone in their rooms with no visitors, while the huge downstairs lobby remained empty. The caller asked the Mitzvah Man if somebody could come over on Shabbat and make kiddush. Food donations were needed as well, so the residents could enjoy a festive lunch together, and to help liven the atmosphere, some yeshiva boys were requested to come sing. The very next Shabbat, Mitzvah Man had food sent over, arranged for a man to come make Kiddush, and sent six yeshiva boys to sing. All at once, the special radiance of Shabbat was brought into the home. The seniors gathered in the lobby, answered amen to kiddush, enjoyed socializing over a hearty lunch, and admired the spirited singing of the yeshivah boys. Six months later, the same caller contacted Mitzvah Man again. “Do you have any idea what’s going on here?” the woman asked. Ready to help again, the Mitzvah Man braced for a sad report of the sorry state of the residents. But instead, the caller raved at how the Shabbat experience that the Mitzvah Man facilitated six months earlier had been repeated every Shabbat for the past six months. Unbeknown to the Mitzvah Man, the heroes he called upon to visit the home that first Shabbat continued to come week after week. “Do you know what you have done?” the caller enthused. “You brought us Shabbat!” 58 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE