How May I Serve You?

I recently read an article McChrystal: Why America Needs National Service - Newsweek about how we applaud people who are in the military serving our country, but we consider their obligation to be theirs and not ours. Stanley McChrystal reminds us that addition to the idea that as Americans we are entitled to inalienable rights we also have responsiblities.

But as important as those inalienable rights are, there are also inalienable responsibilities that we must accept and fulfill. Those responsibilities are wider than are often perceived or accepted. Just as we have allowed the term “service member” to apply solely to the military, we have allowed the obligations of citizenship to narrow.

Even the most basic responsibilities of being an American are considered optional by many. In the seeming anonymity of modern life, the concept of community responsibility has weakened, yet is needed more than ever.

He calls for a service corps which would be part of every Americans obligation of citizenship.

As Jews we are constantly reminded of this notion, but not just through Tikun Olam, repairing the world, which is a Kabbalistic idea. The idea of service to the community is pervasive in Jewish life.

We celebrate that the world stands on three pillar, Torah (study), Avodah (worship) and Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness/helping others). Well the third one is obvious but the pillar that caught my attention was the second one. Why do we translate Avodah- which literally means work, as worship or prayer. We have to go back to the time of the Cohanim, the priests, to understand this term.
In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, when you wanted to communicate with God you brought a sacrifice to offer in the Temple. This was a lot of hard work for everyone. The offerer had to carry the animal. The cohanim had to slaughter it, barbeque it, and serve it, all the while following a specific set of rules to insure that everything was done properly and that the offering would be accepted by God. This was a lot of hard work- avodah.
When prayer replaced sacrifice the name stuck. It still continued to be called Avodah (and it is still, hard work, albeit in a different way.)
These offerings are called sacrifices because you had to literally sacrifice something of value to you. They had to be from the best of your flock or crop. You had to give up something, and in return you gained a blessing.
Sacrifice today is still about hard work and giving up something precious to us whether it is time or the ability to earn more money or money itself.

My father-in-law, Carl Moskowitz, is an amazing volunteer. In his retirement he volunteers for the Red Cross on a weekly basis and FEMA when there are crises. But it didn't start there. When I first met him, 25 years ago he was President of his Temple, Shaare Emeth. And I would hear stories about when in was a volunteer fire fighter in NJ. The only reason he stopped was that they didn't have volunteer fire departments in St. Louis. He believes that it is his responsibility to get involved and to make his community better.

I'm amazed and proud (and grateful)to all of the people connected to Temple Beth Torah who are Volunteer Fire Fighters and EMT- Debbie Archer, Chris and Marilyn Byron, Josh Nachenson, Howard and Amy Kaplan, and Elyssa and Nikki. If I've left people out, just let me know and I'll add them here.

Charlie Cicio is another volunteer hero. He is a retired police officer and is a constant volunteer at the Gerald Ryan Outreach Center and the Mercy INN soup kitchen in Wyandanch. When he came to speak to our JTV kids about feeding the hungry, he was getting ready to leave to go to Haiti to volunteer there.

My friend, Judy, is on her third or fourth trip to Volunteer in the Israeli Army.

Dr. Stephen Harris travelled to Peru with the organization Medical Missions for Children and more recently to the Ivory Coast with the organization Global Smiles Foundation. He describes what he does, "As part of the surgical team, I have the privilege of repairing cleft lips and palates in infants, children, and adults." His whole family has gotten involved, and through them his kid's Chavurah group got involved raising money, collecting goods and creating awareness. The Ripple Effect of helping others.

Both our Jewish values and our American values require us to give back to the community. Doing so takes sacrifice. Fortunately it doesn't have to feel like a burden, but it is hard work. There is always something else one could do, too little time, not enough money. When we want to find excuses not to get involved, it is easy to find them. But let's not do that. Yes, it will take some work, but this is the holiest kind of work, Avodah. McChrystal called for an American Service Corps to be created, Judaism has always called for a Service Corps- here are some ideas. Click on the names to go to their websites

Get involved in your Synagogue and local community centers. (At Temple Beth Torah we are constantly offering ways to get involved)

American Jewish World Service (AJWS)-offers voluntourism, travel experiences in places where there is a great need.

Volunteers for Israel - spend a week or two on an army bases helping with stock and supplies to free the soldiers up for their jobs.

URJ Adult Mitzvah Corps- currently they do not have any trips scheduled, but they have gone to Louisiana, Calif, Vermont.