CU students deliver Shabbat dinners to elderly
Members of the Jewish elderly community are enjoying Shabbat dinners thanks to members of CU’s Hillel.
Student members of CU’s Jewish organization delivered Shabbat dinners to the elderly Friday night in what is known as “L’Dor V’Dor”, which members of Hillel said translates to “from generation to generation”. Members of Hillel deliver a meal to the elderly but also make relationships with the older generation.
Members of the group volunteer to deliver Shabbat dinners to the homes of the elderly once a month. Shabbat is celebrated at Hillel every Friday night but some of the elderly are unable to attend this kosher dinner.
The night begins with members gathering at Hillel to cook the Shabbat dinner and help package it for the delivery. The members then divide the names of the elderly on their delivery list and send out between one and three people per delivery.
“[The dinner] is teriyaki salmon, stir fry vegetables, rice and challah (which is a Jewish bread) and grape juice,” said sophomore sociology major Emily Hariton.
Benjamin Marcus is one of the elderly who receives the Shabbat dinner. He moved to Colorado after Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Marcus is a Navy and World War II Veteran and worked as a salesman in New York, his hometown. He is the father of two and said the members of Hillel who visit him every month are his grandchildren.
“I got in touch with Hillel through the Jewish Family Services in the spring of 2007 and I feel Hillel brings people, young and old, together,” Marcus said. “It’s a wonderful organization. With young people I become alive; they bring the youth out of me.”
Martin and Doris Small are also recipients of the Shabbat dinners from Hillel. They moved to Colorado from Long Island in 2003 to be closer to their children. The Smalls have been guest speakers at CU for Holocaust Awareness Week since 2005.
“Hillel invited us over for a Shabbat dinner after one of our speeches and that’s how we got involved in L’Dor V’Dor,” Doris Small said.
Martin Small emphasized how important it is to give back and that is one of the reasons why he and his wife speak about the Holocaust and are involved with Hillel.
“It is important for young people to know we need to always open our hands and give,” Martin Small said. “No one should go hungry. I was in the concentration camps I know what it means to be hungry.”
Martin Small added that he loves Hillel because their doors are always open to the Jewish and the non-Jewish which makes it possible for the act of giving to happen.
“L’Dor V’Dor allows young people to interact with the elderly on a more personal level,” Martin Small said. “It is both appreciated and enjoyed by both Hillel and their elderly supporters.”
The next L’Dor V’Dor is planned for March 7 at 4 p.m.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Katelyn Bell at Katelyn.bell@colorado.edu.
