Gift drive upholds Jewish tradition

Beth El Synagogue sponsors annual Chanukah LIGHTS program

By: Kip Berman
   EAST WINDSOR — We often hear that it is better to give than to receive. In Judaism, according to Rabbi Jay Kornsgold, it’s best to give anonymously.
   This holiday season, East Windsor’s Beth El Synagogue’s annual Chanukah LIGHTS (Love Is Giving Holiday gifts To Share) program, which runs through Sunday, will collect about 125 toys and other gifts for children in need. And while many charitable donors would relish the joy of bringing toys and DVDs directly to their recipients, because of Judaism teachings on tzedakeh, loosely translated as "charity," the donors and recipients will never come face to face.
   "Of course tzedakeh doesn’t have to be anonymous. However, the Jewish tradition teaches us that the highest level of giving is to be done anonymously. What’s important is the act of giving in itself," said Rabbi Kornsgold.
   The gifts will be donated to Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County and Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services in Brooklyn, N.Y.
   Debra Levenstein, director of prevention and support services for JFCS, coordinates similar drives across Mercer County. She takes great pains to protect the anonymity of the donor and recipient.
   "We take extra care to preserve anonymity for religious reasons," she said. "We ask for unwrapped gifts so parents know what they’re getting. … We also ask families to purchase gift certificates so parents can get what they like."
   Once the goods are collected, the recipient families come to pick them up at JFCS.
   According to Ms. Levenstein, the most popular item requested by families this year is clothing — especially warm winter clothing. Sadly, she says, overall donations have not met the growing needs of the community this year.
   "More families are making requests this year, but 40 percent less people have stepped forward to donate," she said. "In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, all the local giving has been negatively impacted."
   Yet, Rabbi Kornsgold doesn’t anticipate any decline in his congregation’s giving, expecting last year’s total of 125 gifts to be met or exceeded.
   Though the increase in gift giving is a relatively recent adaptation for Hanukkah, the theological underpinning of tzedakeh is certainly not in question.
   "Tzedakeh is generally translated as ‘charity.’ But the root of the word comes from the Hebrew word for justice," said Rabbi Kornsgold. "So when you perform acts of charity, you are really performing acts of justice."
   And he goes on to say that these acts of justice are not a choice but an obligation for Jews.
   Ms. Levenstein added that any personal satisfaction one receives from performing good deeds is beyond the point.
   "We do good deeds because God has commanded us to bring justice to the world," she says.
   And while families in need will certainly benefit greatly from the generosity of the Beth El’s congregation, the congregation also is receiving something in return — an important spiritual lesson.
   "Many of the gifts are donated by children in the Beth El religious school and preschool with their own money," according to Rabbi Kornsgold. "A lot of the kids take money, not from their parents, but out of their own pocket to participate."