As soon as the pandemic forced buildings to close their doors, a KI leader suggested that we ask Catering By Andrew to repackage KI’s kiddush lunch so it could be distributed individually, and hand it out in the garden.
“And so a new initiative was born” recalls KI’s Jennie Roffman.
The Kiddush Lunch distribution and delivery program has operated every single week of the past 16 months, regardless of weather. We have experienced rain, snow, extreme heat requiring icepacks for the tuna fish and visits to the walk-in refrigerator for the volunteers, and extreme cold requiring “heater breaks” inside the vestibule. KI has distributed nearly 7,000 lunches to date, thanks entirely to the generosity of many kiddush sponsors and donors to the kiddush fund, and the tireless efforts of nearly fifty volunteers.
“But the real story” Jennie emphasizes is in the unanticipated connections that were made between and among a broad swath of Kehillath Israel community members.
Here are some reflections from the community:
“I like doing it because it brings me, along with many other people Joy! It showed me how one act of kindness can bring many more acts of kindness. I met another friend that I trade art work with. She gives me pottery, and I give her paintings. I always love to see her and talk with her in Hebrew. It is amazing to see how our community came together in these hard times to create something amazing like this!”
-Leading organizer Yoni Kleinbaum
“As a long time KI volunteer (and ex-trustee) myself, I realize that the delivery volunteers are benefiting as well as me.”
-Larry Sochrin
“What a treat I have every Shabbat afternoon when Michael Mendelsohn, a volunteer, delivers a kiddush lunch to me. I feel a heartwarming weekly connection to my shul.”
-Life-long KI member Connie Rabinovitz
“I watched Shabbat morning services on zoom each week. But in terms of connecting with people outside my household, Kiddush outside the shul was the only thing I had. In the beginning it was easy – throw on clothes at aleynu, back on zoom by adon olam, and then off to KI in the beautiful summer… to touch base with some I knew well, get to know some others much better – including Ian and Jennie, and the wonderboy Yoni – the three of whom were so generous with their time I was amazed. I watced Michael Mendelsohn and his beard and hair grow longer and longer – as he picked up lunches and delivered them to 1550 Beacon every week. Or Jodi Hecht with her brilliant idea of a large picture of herself worn as a necklace to announce to all This is the real me – also every week delivering. And once the weather turned cold, the amazing thing is that they were all still there (as was I) every single week. It was as if we were all saying: Yes, we can be part of a community with real people, yes we can remember we are part of a larger Jewish family, yes we can make small talk and also make real contact, yes real life is still out there. And as if KI and every single person who delivered lunches to those who couldn’t easily walk themselves — were saying, “Yes, we haven’t forgotten you.”
-Shu Kahn, Former KI President
“The experience has been so rewarding for us, and even as COVID becomes less of a threat (please Gd), we hope to continue our involvement as the program adapts to new circumstances.”
-Leslee Rudnick, whose family goes back to the founding of KI
All congregations struggled since March 2020 with how to manage and sustain connections. We should take pride in the notion that our community purposed anew a sacred weekly Shabbat experience into an unprecedented invitation to much deeper bonds and spiritually nourishing connections that will long endure. When we tell the story of how KI responded to COVID-19, this is one of the stories we will tell from generation to generation.
Jennie captures so well what the Kehillah (community) of KI is really all about.
“Ian and I personally feel blessed and honored to have developed friendships with many whom we previously knew only by name or by sight – and I feel certain that these friendships will only get closer as we return to what “normal” life at KI has always been. From now on, when I glimpse a fellow long-time congregant from across the Sanctuary on a Shabbat morning, our usual friendly mutual smile or nod will be complemented by a hug, which we are grateful to finally be allowed to give and receive, and a warm, deep conversation about our lives. Amidst a frightening and sobering time in our lives, we have received a gift of closeness and connection, for which I will always be deeply thankful.”
-The Roffman family
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