PSA: What Are You Doing Two Days Before Purim?

Making a last minute dash to Boro Park for the perfect addition to your mishloach manos… laying out your childrens’ costumes so they’re pressed and ready in time for megilla… polishing the prized silver mezuzah case that you won at a Chinese auction all those years ago… finishing a purim seuda menu that is both hearty enough to feed the ravenous revelers who will come toppling tipsily through the door, and festive enough to compliment the holiday feel… smiling as you acknowledge the hard work it takes to run a household, hard work that is rewarded with the ultimate nachas and inner joy.

What are some of your neighbors doing 2 days before Purim?

Making a 6:00 am trip to the hospital for additional testing following last week’s ambiguous brain scan results… laying out the contents of his hospital bag, to be sure nothing is left out, for the surgery that could only be scheduled on purim day… fingering her worn out tehillim, the heart broken bubby cries for her grandson who has been critical for months without any hope… explaining to his toddler that his condition makes it life threatening to eat any of the sugary nosh he’ll be surrounded with all week… trying their utmost to feel the pre-purim happiness and excitement, despite the gut-wrenching anxiety, physical pain and fear of the future.

What are Bikur Cholim volunteers doing 2 days before Purim?

Driving 8 patients on round trips to hospitals and doctors around the city, from Washington Heights to Long Island Jewish and a clinic in Great Neck… Preparing and delivering dinner for 11 different families, each with its own specifications from diabetes to severe food allergies… visiting patients in 7 locations- a holocaust survivor in rehab, a young widow at home, a gentleman going through regular dialysis, a women recovering from an accident and the mother of a toddler on bedrest… arranging for homebound patients to receive visitors and mishloach manos on purim afternoon… all while preparing their own families and homes for purim, knowing their own joy will be complete because they have contributed to the simcha of others.

During the month of Adar, we amend Bikur Cholim’s motto HEALING THROUGH KINDNESS with GIVING THROUGH JOY, because nothing makes a patient’s day brighter, or their suffering lighter, than knowing that someone cares about them. Let’s show our friends and neighbors, those who rely on Bikur Cholim’s vital services to help make their time going through medical crisis more manageable, let’s show them we care. Please include Bikur Cholim in your Matanos L’evyonim.

Here are some excerpts from the many letters and cards that Bikur Cholim received in just the last few months:

From Mrs. S (mother of 10): To all the volunteers of Bikur Cholim, I fail words to express my gratitude to you for all you have done for me and my family… After the birth, I got very sick and couldn’t even stand up from my bed. Lying down in constant pain and discomfort, I was overwhelmed… These meals and cleaning help truly cheered me up! I felt being cared for by people who didn’t even know me and I don’t know them and yet they are going out of their way to help a lady they heard needs some help. I am proud to belong to this wonderful community!!! Guys, your ahavas yisroel touched my heart. Please accept my respect and gratitude….

From Rabbi and Mrs. K (parents to a child with illness): We would like to thank you tremendously for the personal chanuka gifts to our children… We noticed how much care was put into buying something that was appropriate for each child, down to the size!! … One of the children said, “we are so lucky [child’s name withheld] got sick because we get so many presents!” Although it was a sad comment, it shows how it is so effective to give gifts to the other children, they don’t feel resentful to have such a sick sibling, but lucky. Hatzlocha in all your work…

From D (adult child of parent going through illness): To whom it may concern, I would like to commend the bikur cholim transportation committee on their incredible service to the community. My mother goes to treatments 3 times a week, shuttled back and forth by a medical service. Lately she has been skipping appointments and feeling worse. She said she felt lonely and sicker than before when taking those trips. I could not afford to take off work to drive her each time, so I called bikur cholim in a last resort. To my surprise, bikur cholim offered to do more than half the drives. I immediately saw a change in my mother’s mood and health: she became close to some of the volunteer drivers. They provide comfort and companionship on a ride that is otherwise quite depressing. She is met by a cheerful volunteer who makes my mother feel like she has nothing else to do but take her for treatments. It’s a comforting ritual that she now looks forward to. Please thank the drivers tremendously on behalf of my entire family for making our job caring for an ailing parent much easier.

From Z (young parent undergoing treatment): To the wonderful volunteers at bikur cholim of crown heights, I cannot begin to tell you what a difference your involvement in my care has made. At first I was quite embarrassed to be asking for help, but very quickly I realized I cannot go through this by myself. Bikur Cholim stepped in like a family member, who I unfortunately don’t have locally, and you’ve helped me in so many ways…. My children are eating home made nutritious food, my husband doesn’t have to leave work to meet the school bus on the many times I was too weak to go out myself because bikur cholim girls came to the rescue, and I know there is someone outside my immediate family who worries about me too…

For more information or to contact Bikur Cholim, please call 718-467-1661 or email: info@bikurcholimCH.org