. . . You may wonder why I begin with three dots. It is a reminder and a sign for all of us that mitzvahs and deeds of loving kindness have a before, a beginning, a beginning that needs to be constantly renewed. For many, doing deeds of kindness are learned from our parents. Most likely, from a time which we can hardly even recall. These deeply instilled habits just seem natural when we are older. The grand example that comes to mind for me is the Rabbanit Kapach in Jerusalem. Just as kind is the child who asks his or her parents for some change for a street person who is someone's mother or father, brother or sister, son or daughter.

For others, the before is an Aha! moment, a problem presented and a solution found. It is a Clara Hammer who learned that one can never be too old to help feed others who are hungry. Or an Avshalom Beni, whose love of animals, drew him to rescue abused and abandoned pets who now assist him in providing life-saving therapy to families, children, adults, Survivors who in their own way are just as damaged. Or a Trevor Ferrell, who as an eleven year-old child saw homeless people on television and wanted to provide food and blankets to keep them warm. Because of his kindness, he brought the people of Philadelphia together in an effort to help solve this problem.



My before was the second intifadah. I wanted to help build communal support for Israel in a different way so that we would feel personally vested with the people in Israel who were enduring daily attacks. With the help and support of the Five Synagogues of White Plains, I began a Wedding Dress Project, collecting wedding dresses here and finding couriers to carry them to Jerusalem so that the dresses could be lent to poor brides who could not afford such magnificent gowns. In time, with the assistance of Ella Badin from White Plains who turned a then-pregnancy into a great gift to others, we began to collect new and gently worn baby clothes and found people to carry those, as well. The project took on a life of its own. The Westchester Jewish community collected and delivered wedding dresses, toiletries and candies for soldiers, clothing for babies and toddlers, clothes for Shabbat, school supplies and backpacks, watches, winter jackets and many other items which were distributed with care to people in need. We were fortunate enough to share this experiment with other Jewish communities in the United States and to teach them what we learned.

Though this project is on hiatus, through it I have learned great Jewish lessons about mitzvahs and deeds of loving kindness which I wish to share. There are so many good people who perform simple acts of kindness, too numerous to name. I have seen it in the generosity of donors and in the people who carried the bags, saying, "One more bag", over and over again. I have learned about the interdependence of people and how we are not alone when we engage our compassion and caring nature. People wish to come together to be a part of a community to serve some greater good. Mitzvahs and deeds of loving kindness are easy entry points into Judaism to learn more about Our Grand Tradition, about our obligations to each other and to the world as God's creatures being created in His image. In a world where rights take pride of place, we can also remind ourselves that we have the duty, the obligation, the responsibility to help others with kavod, dignity, and that it is a never-ending task as we help God fix the world of His making.

The great thing about this work is that you do not have to be a professional. I am far from it. Amateur standing is just as good; perhaps even better, since you haven't yet learned that the Work cannot be done. (There is even a benefit in making new mistakes.) Small deeds have as great an impact as large ones. Further, there is no greater reward than a Mitzvah high. There is no end to what we can do with the talent God has given us if we just use our imagination to help people who are lonely, hungry, broken, who need to be picked up after falling, who seek a kind word, who are captives to their poverty, to their addictions, who need to be reminded that they are a member of the family of man and woman.

This journey begins with a first step. Let's take it together on this open road of Mitzvah Work and deeds of loving kindness

George Greene lives in Chappaqua, New York with his wife of twenty-five years, Merrie, his two daughters Hannah Esther and Tova Leah and their cat Darcy. He would like to say that he is a member of the "Dairy Pranksters", but he is not. He views himself as an almost Good Person since there is always room for improvement. About every two to three months, he sends out via cyberspace a Chesed Newsletter which highlights deeds of loving kindness. To get on his mailing list, just write to Chesed4Israel@aol.com. This summer he hopes to master the art of making Japanese mud balls: http://dorodango.com">http://dorodango.com">http://dorodango.com.

. . . You may wonder why I begin with three dots. It is a reminder and a sign for all of us that mitzvahs and deeds of loving kindness have a before, a beginning, a beginning that needs to be constantly renewed. For many, doing deeds of kindness are learned from our parents. Most likely, from a time which we can hardly even recall. These deeply instilled habits just seem natural when we are older. The grand example that comes to mind for me is the Rabbanit Kapach in Jerusalem. Click "go" above to read the full entry.