The following essay on community service was written by Marlo Spielman, a middle schooler, enrolled in City Congregation’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah program. Students spend a year and a half researching their heritage, values and beliefs, and write on a Jewish subject of their choice, their major project; they also perform 13 hours of community service, and write about it. An example of this component can be seen below. The process improves both the student’s writing and critical thinking skills, as well as their self confidence and overall maturity.
As part of my bat mitzvah preparation, I did 13 hours of community service. The four values I chose to follow when deciding what community service to participate in were Tzaar Baaley Hayyim (concern for the suffering of animals), Tikkun Olam (bettering the world), Shmirat Ha-Adama (guarding the earth), and Bikur Holim (visiting the sick).
When I first started thinking about what kind of community service I should do, my mind immediately went to dog walking (Tzaar Baaley Hayyim). There’s an animal shelter, Sean Casey, near where I live, and I absolutely love dogs; it would be perfect. I walked over to the shelter with my dad, but when we got there, we were told that only my dad could hold the leash because I’m too young. Although this was disappointing, we stayed to walk dogs anyway.
My job when walking both dogs was simply feeding them treats and picking up dog poop, but I still wasn’t doing a lot.
It didn’t take me long to realize that this wasn’t what community service was about. I was supposed to be helping others, but there were so many people volunteering to walk these dogs, and I didn’t have much work to do when walking them anyway. This was just making myself happy. I knew I needed to start doing something different.
The next community service I did was participating in a climate change march (Tikkun Olam). I’ve participated in climate marches like this before, with friends and family. This was a huge march starting in Foley Square in Manhattan, connected to Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future program. I marched along the Brooklyn Bridge with my mom for about an hour and a half, while people held up signs and we chanted. Being a part of something I really cared about, and being surrounded by people who felt just as strongly was a very fulfilling experience. I most definitely plan on marching again.
The third community service I participated in was a neighborhood clean-up (Shmirat Ha-Adama) called “Clean Up Kensington”, created by a family who lives in our neighborhood. I joined with my mom, and we helped pick up trash down seven blocks for an hour and a half. At first it felt a little gross, but after some time, I started to get used to it. It really made me aware of how careless people can be about their garbage. There was an especially alarming number of bottle caps and cigarettes on the ground. I spent a lot of time trying to dig bottle caps out of the dirt of tree beds using a stick. Although this work was tough, it was really liberating as well. My mom and I had multiple people come up to us and tell us how grateful they were that we were doing this, and it made me feel better about the amount of wet garbage I had to claw out of dirty puddles in the street.
That said, I shouldn’t have to fill entire garbage bags with a few blocks’ worth of litter. People should be more responsible for their own trash, and throw it away in a garbage can instead of on the street. But because that is likely not going to happen anytime soon, I will definitely be doing more clean ups like these in the future, and maybe even start my own sometime!
The fourth, and final community service I participated in was making greeting cards for people who can’t leave their homes (Bikur Holim). More specifically, I made cards for a Citymeals on Wheels program, who deliver them to their clients along with their meals. For those of you who don’t know, Citymeals on Wheels is an organization that delivers food to seniors who live alone and are unable to prepare meals for themselves. I made several cards saying “Have a nice day!” or “Happy Birthday!” to be sent and hopefully brighten someone’s day.
I had a really fun time making these cards, and hey—I got better at drawing dogs while I was at it. It makes me feel good knowing that my message will make a senior out there, living alone, smile, and make their day just a little bit better. I plan to make many more.
To continue giving to the world and combating climate change, I’ve decided that a percentage of the proceeds earned from my Bat Mitzvah will be donated to Fridays for Future. All donations are important, and I urge you to donate! Every little bit counts.
All the community service I did, whether gross or fun, was just as rewarding in the end. It makes me feel good to help others—and that’s what Judaism is about. It’s about generosity, and caring about others before yourself. For me, Judaism is about giving without expecting anything in return. I encourage all of you to do something this week, big or small, for a larger cause today. I want you all to do something outside of yourself, to make a difference, even if it means using a stick to dig bottle caps out of tree beds.
