Alef: The NEXT Conversation

Keeping the Faith

by Shauna Ruda

When I was 20, I decided to spend my spring break in Moscow, Russia

with NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, learning about the (re)emerging Jewish communities of the Former Soviet Union

On Friday afternoon, before Shabbat, I went with a group of 4 other young people to visit Olga, a 76 year-old woman left home-bound on her 10th floor walk-up apartment. Olga is visited every Friday afternoon before Shabbat, as a recipient of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee,or JDC’s, Hesed program.

We sat with Olga for an hour as she reflected on her life. In the end, she thanked us for coming. She told us that she was grateful for the food each week, but more importantly, she was grateful that the program restored her faith. “Faith,” she said, “is what keeps me alive.”

That moment was profound for me.

As humans, living in a world of material goods, some that really do sustain us, some that don’t, it’s hard to think in terms of our souls and what our souls need to continue moving forward.

So at that moment I decided that giving Jewishly was important.

Initially it was because of guilt:

There are nearly 200, 000 impoverished elderly Jews and 30,000 Jewish children in the Former Soviet Union who rely on critical nutritional, medical, and other assistance every year.

36,000 Jews impoverished by Argentina’s 2001 economic crisis.

25,000 Jews in Turkey who want to continue Jewish life by sustaining their Jewish education centers.

Over 90 Jewish communities across the world need to sustain themselves somehow and cannot continue without the help of the rest of the Jewish community

We are a community that makes up 0.2 percent of the world population. When I looked at Olga, I saw my own family – and the families of all of my Jewish friends: the new immigrants struggling to survive, or the people devastated by the Holocaust or pogroms or economic failures or failed governments. It was only through the little extra help of Jewish organizations that they were able to live and survive in this world.

And then, I thought about what Olga said – that faith kept her alive – and reflected on what that really meant.

Faith connects us, as Jews, to a 4,000 year-old history. The fact that we have even made it this long and gone so far says something about this religion – about our resilience. And if ever we feel weak, we can rest on the fact that Jewish people have been surviving for centuries.

And of course, there’s a deeply personal side. Being Jewish gives meaning through its purpose for each individual. In Judaism, we are all connected – regardless of the rules we create for ourselves. And maybe at times it’s hard to find a connection to each other – but deep down we feel it and we know it and feel the pain and the joy of each other.

My basic desire to give rests on my faith. Judaism says that we should choose life – to live in this world as much as we possibly can and so I try to. Judaism says be kind to your neighbors. Judaism says that we should give, that we should be aware of those less fortunate than ourselves, that we should never envy and always be thankful. So I learned to give, because I am Jewish.

There are a lot of people who need help in the world. I believe deeply that people should give based on what they feel moved by, and what they’ve experienced and seen. And, I experienced this woman – 76 years old, Jewish, in her apartment, sick – but moving forward.

It’s not the blood in our veins (we have converts), or a common language (modern Hebrew is only a century old) or land (we went through the bulk of diaspora without a Jewish state) – it is faith that has enabled us to continue as a Jewish people no matter are struggles. So I give Jewishly, because I believe in the power of faith.

For more on Jewish giving and tzedakah, read the other posts in this series: Tzedek in Parashat Ki Tavo  and Supporting Jewish Causes.

 Photo provided by the author.

Tags: faith, giving, jewish, jews, Joint Distribution Committee, keeping the faith

Posted by Emily.Comisar@birthrightisraelnext.org, Friday, October 7th, 2011, 8:53 am, Featured, Money.