This post is a response to the article, Students Flock to Aid the North But Did They?, from the Jewish Daily Forward.
The Leading Up North Trip attracted some very high profile and influential individuals from the Jewish community one of which was Hillel President Wayne Firestone. Wayne gave a passionate speech Saturday night following our Havdallah service in the youth hostel. I was particularly taken by his passion and energy as he is a very talented speaker. A majority of his comments were directed at many of the issues we volunteers were struggling with regarding the trip's purpose. Was this work significant enough to warrant the millions of dollars being spent sending us to Israel? Would the citizens of the north be better off had this money been directly donated to the communities? He addressed these doubts by posing an even larger dilemma, should Israel need us, the United States and the Jewish community living outside Israel?
Maimonides states that there are eight levels of charity. The greatest level, above which there is no other, is to strengthen another Jew by giving him a loan to start a business, or a job to strengthen his hand so he can create a livelihood that doesn’t require charity from others. Ten years ago Israeli dignitaries told the Jewish community to keep their money, that Israel was strong and could provide for its citizens. Years later, is that attitude still relevant?
The Rabbi at my synagogue in Long Island just recently spearheaded a fund raising campaign to buy a fire truck for an Israeli settlement down south in distance to Gaza. This fire truck will be adorned with a Merrick Jewish Center placard. Everywhere you look building, forests and synagogues are plastered with the names of wealthy benefactors living comfortably halfway around the world. What message does this send to the people that live in Israel? Is it a message of love or is a message of frailty?
Maimonides’ second level of charity which falls below giving someone a job is one who gives tzedaka to the poor in a manner of anonymity. The recipient should not know the giver and the giver should not know the identity of the recipient. By ensuring both parties are anonymous, the receiver of charity escapes humiliation and the giver remains humble. In the example of the fire truck, not only will both parties know each other, but the fire truck will be outfitted with a giant sign which will serve as a constant reminder to the Americans considerate and wealthy enough to make the donation.
Although Maimonides would have something to say in regards to the gift giving and gift wrapping, one can argue that the fire truck still fits within his model as it allows for the settlement to provide for its own collective security. Instead of sending our firefighters around the world to extinguish the fires in Israel, we as a community are providing the means to achieve that goal. It is ultimately up to the people, those whose livelihood depends on it, to make use of this tool. But, can the same thing be said of our trip to Israel? Are we like firefighters sent half way around the world to fight a fire that is best fought by those in danger?
These are tough issues. It is hard and often unfair to judge good deeds and great deeds. Although from a Talmudic standpoint, other acts of kindness like subsidized volunteer trips to Israel escape Maimonides tzedaka hierarchy, it is still interesting to examine the anonymity principle. I think when it comes to community service the anonymity principle is reversed. Although acts of kindness usually necessitate contact with the person or community receiving aid, the experience usually fosters a similar humbling effect in the service provider. Community service allows you to appreciate all of g-d’s gifts, recognize your own mortality and offer something that is not easily exchanged through money, love and hope. In reality, that was the true gift we were sent to deliver. Our work was there to bridge the gap and serve as a medium of exchange, only Wayne was one of the minority that actually recognized this before we started. Many of us couldn’t fully appreciate this until after we left the north. Although money can be wired to fix a building, it can’t buy a hug or a handshake. Those things require personal delivery.
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