SKA Students Volunteer on a Hebrew Free Burial Association Project

An overwhelming feeling of chesed has pervaded the halls of SKA, as so many students have had the opportunity in recent weeks to learn about the school’s theme for this year, “kavod chavercha,” in some very hands-on ways.

The 9th graders had a choice between two chesed opportunities in Brooklyn. Half chose to help at Bobby’s Place, a gemach that services over 3,000 children whose families cannot afford clothing. The girls soon recognized the effort that goes into maintaining the dignity of the families they service and got to work cleaning, sorting, and hanging in an effort to maintain these incredible standards.

The other half of the grade headed to Otzar, a day-hab facility for adults with special needs. They walked around and got acquainted, enjoying the enthusiastic welcome they received. Then, together with their new friends, they did a fun, autumn-themed project, sang songs, and danced. It was a spirited, leibedik time, and the girls looks forward to seeing their Otzar friends again soon at the SKA annual Otzar Chanukah party.

The 10th grade represented the school at Dag Hammersjold Plaza in front of the United Nations, rallying for the release of Israeli MIA soldiers. Sophomore Rachel Lunzer delivered a powerful speech, expressing the necessity of these soldiers’ returning to their families and homes. They felt an enormous sense of responsibility to K’lal Yisrael as they stood among hundreds of enthusiastic people, holding up dozens of homemade signs and chanting together, “Am Yisrael Chai.”

The 11th graders went on their annual trip to help the Hebrew Free Burial Association clean up its cemetery and perform a chesed shel emes. Rabbi Dovid Weinberger delivered an inspiring shiur before their departure, emphasizing the importance of kavod ha’meis and the appropriate kedushah at a cemetery.

The Hebrew Free Burial Association is an organization that raises money and care for Jewish people who cannot afford the expenses of a proper Jewish burial, as well as people who don’t have relatives or friends to handle their affairs when they pass away. Because they are a nonprofit organization they rely on volunteers, like SKA, to help with the upkeep of their cemetery. To that end, the girls did various jobs to help honor the deceased, including pruning, raking, weeding, and cleaning garbage or graffiti from the graves.

The seniors baked challahs for homebound members of the community. With the help of Long Island NCSY, the girls spent time on Thursday baking delicious challahs. After the challahs were beautifully packaged, the girls spent Friday afternoon delivering them to a long list of people who otherwise might have been without challah for Shabbos and who were very appreciative of their labor and their company.

Volunteers from each grade had the opportunity to visit a kosher soup kitchen in Manhattan. In the week preceding the trip, each girl signed up to bring specific foods that would help supply a nutritious and delicious lunch to those who might otherwise have gone hungry. When they arrived at Emunat Israel, they were greeted by a representative from Project Ohr, the organization that runs the soup kitchen, who explained to the girls what they would be doing and what they should expect to see. Then, they got busy in the kitchen preparing lunch. As the clients streamed in, the girls served them lunch, walked around and kept them company, and tried to create a generally friendly atmosphere.