Giving is mandated by our Judeo-Christian set of beliefs. We each should give according to our ability. Separately, there should be an equal assessment to all since we are all equal human beings. Giving is measured not only in how much money one contributes every year. Giving is also in a listening ear, visiting a sick person, inviting someone to your home, doing good deeds.
Giving is doing good deeds not for one’s sake but for a greater cause or another being, without expectation of a return. All these good deeds accumulate and are kept in a reserve account for a person. At the end of one’s days, the person’s account is visited and the balance presented, helping to determine the weight of the scales. At that time the person is stripped of all worldly possessions, one’s bank account is of little value. The reserve account, on the other hand, is suddenly discovered, composed of deeds we long ago forgot, others to which we never paid attention, and we stand with awe as one deed after the next stands up for us, silently holding hands with one another, surrounding us like blessed angels.
The greatest Chesed (good deed) of all, according to Judaism, is attending someone’s funeral, since one cannot expect anything in return. We are taught that giving should be done unconditionally, no strings attached, anonymously if possible. I would like to highlight several examples, all with a common thread: Affecting the life of someone in need. There is another common denominator tying these examples – the givers not taking things for granted. At times they are messengers, links in a chain, fulfilling a part in a greater design of bestowing a heavenly gift on those least expecting and most needing it.
When Netanyahu – now working on composing a wide centrist government in Israel – was working to revive the failing Israeli economy some years ago, a large segment of the population was badly hurting. The economy flourished as a result of the economic measures, but the weak elements of society remember a traumatic shock of being unable to have enough food on the table for their families.
At that time, a group of very well intentioned people in Beer Sheva, a city otherwise not known for glitz and glamour serving as the capital of the Negev, started a project. They would collect bread from local bakeries, other ingredients from stores and local businesses and gather at night to prepare sandwiches, which they then distributed at the local schools.
A group of religious young women, who do national service were visiting homes and noticed that at one home there was no food, at another something else was missing, etc. They acted as the eyes and ears for the community. Other, more fortunate members of the community then provided these needs, becoming an unknown angel coming to visit.
Also in the city of Beer Sheva, French Jews helped obtain a location where national service young women are joined with local youth providing them a warm house after school. The kids have a safe environment in which they are paired with a peer counselor, just a few years older. “Suddenly” there were no gangs, drugs and crime rate decreased and the cycle of violence was broken. Every once in a while the Jews from France would come for an unannounced visit. The volunteers all shuddered with apprehension: Will the funding continue? Nothing was ever taken for granted.
I am reminded of my brother, when he and two friends created a startup company many years ago. Since they were not known as early risers, our doubts were many. The typical stereotype of inventors, computer geniuses, was so embedded in our minds that we wondered: why should they go into debt for an office and other expenses when they may not be fit to run an office. So my father did surprise visits, inspections. To everyone’s great astonishment, they were really serious. They showed up to work early every morning, they stayed until very late every night, they did all that a business should do, and they created. They were motivated.
The current Minister of Defense of Israel, Ehud Barak, was once the Chief of Staff. I was then a young first lieutenant at General Headquarters. I remember my impressions of Barak’s sharp mind, astute observations and lack of patience when I was making a presentation to him. I also remember his appearing, unannounced, to different army bases throughout Israel. When it happened in a series of such visits, everyone started shaping up – from the soldiers at the gated entrances to the commanders of each base. Things that were neglected for years became the focus of attention; people’s sensitivities were heightened.
When the computer does not respond and we keep hitting a key (or many keys), the strokes are all remembered. Often it is not the computer but the user. Chief of Staff Barak’s arrival to an army base did save lives. It could have been a vehicle with explosives rather than with the Chief of Staff that was not checked properly. The devastation then could have been much worse than several officers being court-martialed.
At times we need a shake-up. Things we have not noticed, the comforts to which we have become accustomed, other items which came so regularly that we expected them as if they are owed to us and the attitude of “business as usual” must be broken. The laziness of mediocrity, of life going by, must be dusted off.
We have been afforded a unique opportunity that tells us to get ready before we truly fail. The current economic situation is providing the framework. The way that individuals and foundations lost billions of dollars since they – not Madoff – were not on the alert and did not read the obvious signs must serve as a wake up call.
Following a 19 week assignment as a foreign correspondent in Israel, Ari Bussel is now reporting from home about life in the Great Depression of the 21st Century. In a series of articles, Bussel brings the sights and experiences of life in the America as the global recession starts to be felt. The collection of these “Postcards from Home” captures the essence of life in Los Angeles as the first decade of the Century comes to an end.
© Postcards from Home, March, 2009
Contact:
aribussel@gmail.com
