Chesed Collections
US Chesed's quarterly Chesed Collections allow communities to collect items to be sent as gifts in kind to various charities in need of the items. These are items which people tend to have in their homes and though they may be no longer of use to them, they would be very valuable to, and much appreciated by, those living in different circumstances. For example, at Chanukah 5769, over 32 communities collected thousands of desperately needed toys and baby goods for Jewish communities in the Ukraine and Moldova through World Jewish Relief's Gifts In Kind Programme. Members deposit the items in the 'collection point' in their synagogue and we do the rest. It's an easy idea which involves a small act by the donor, but makes a big difference to the recipient.
Shoe Collection
Jack Kagan, a survivor of Bergen Belsen and a partisan who fought alongside the Bielski brothers in WWII once said, 'It was a pair of boots that saved my life.' Shoes have the power to transform lives. The Sages (Talmud Brachot 60b) write that there is a unique and powerful blessing one originally made after putting on one's shoes. 'Blessed is God who has given me all my needs.' For, adds the Torah Temima (notes to Devarim 11:13), the health of the entire body rests upon keeping ones feet intact, and thus shoes are the essential basis for the whole of one's needs.
In the Yom Kippur machzor we read the story of the Roman procurator who tortured and murdered the ten martyred Rabbis of Israel. The Roman ruler brings the ten Rabbis to his palace to face a room filled up with shoes. 'You Rabbis,' he demands 'will stand trial for your ancestors who sold Joseph for shoes.'
We, who live in a world where the Holocaust has stamped its searing imagery across our consciousness, know what a room full of shoes looks like. It is the sign of ultimate loss.
Perhaps then, we as Jews hold a unique responsibility to donate our old shoes towards continued use. To this end, US Chesed is supporting 'Shoe Aid for Africa', which collects unwanted children's shoes, smartens them up and distributes them in Africa. It's common for children in Africa to walk up to seven miles across uneven ground, barefoot because their parents can't afford to buy them shoes. So if you've got any old pairs that you were planning to throw away please support our collection. Adult shoes are also welcome. To find your local collection point or to set up a collection in your shul or school, please contact Candice on 020 8343 5688, or email cwoolfson@theus.org.uk
Spectacle Collection
"There is nothing in the world more grievous than poverty - the most terrible of sufferings. Our teachers have said: if all the troubles in the world are assembled on one side and poverty is on the other, poverty would outweigh them all." (Midrash Exodus Rabbah 31:32)
We are all too aware of the extent of poverty which penetrates our fractured world. Intrinsic to our Jewish responsibility is an obligation to try to 'heal the world' and relieve the suffering of those in need in society, and through small, independent acts of Chesed, we start to impact change on the world.
According to estimates, up to 200 million people in the developing world have poor sight and no access to appropriate spectacles, making daily living difficult. Simply as a result of poor eye sight, millions of people are locked into a cycle of deepening poverty.
Vision Aid Overseas is dedicated to helping people in the developing world whose lives are blighted by poor eyesight, particularly where spectacles can help. With the correct spectacles, people can learn, work and achieve a quality of life otherwise completely unobtainable. The spectacles dispensed by Vision Aid Overseas in the developing world are all recycled from second-hand spectacles donated by members of the public in the UK.
US Chesed, supported by The Eye Warehouse, is joining in this vital initiative by asking United Synagogue members to donate old, unused pairs of spectacles to be sent to optical clinics in various African countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia. We're asking you to drop your unwanted pairs of spectacles into your shul office so that we can find them a good home.
In the Talmud Megillah 24b, we read the following:
R. Jose said: I was long perplexed by this verse, And thou shalt grope at noonday as the blind gropeth in darkness. Now what difference [I asked] does it make to a blind man whether it is dark or light? [Nor did I find the answer] until the following incident occurred. I was once walking on a pitch black night when I saw a blind man walking in the road with a torch in his hand. I said to him, My son, why do you carry this torch? He replied: As long as I have this torch in my hand, people see me and save me from the holes and the thorns and briars.
Just as the blind man relies upon those with sight to see his torch, recognise his plight and come to his aid, right now there are people living in darkest poverty, who have pinned their hopes for vision on us. And simply by the smallest gesture, of giving away our unwanted glasses, we can help them to navigate their own way through the thorns and briars of starvation and ignorance.
By dropping your old spectacles into your shul office, you can help someone see a better future. This collection is dedicated to the memory of Giles Van Colle, a US member and Jewish optician who was deeply involved in helping others. He was tragically murdered in 2000.
We would like to thank the following opticians who have donated new stock to this campaign:
Carol Arkush, BSc, MCOptom, DipCLP
Gavzey Opticians
EuroOptica
Alvin Cohen
Fagan & Unger Optician
The Eye Warehouse
S Hoff Optometrist
David Stern
Judith Stechler
Carol Steinhart
Riv:K Switzerland
Arthur Morrice Opticians
David Paul Opticians
Observatory The Opticians
D & A Opticians
Optix at Broadgate
Sue Leighter
Bushey Heath Opticians
Before Chanukah each year, we run a collection of toys and baby goods. Please see 'Chesed at Chanukah for more information. Before Pesach each year, we run our 'Chametz for the Homeless' collection initiative. Please see 'Chesed at Pesach' for more information.
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