Jerusalem: Lev Ramot

I arrived at the home of my Jerusalem hosts Avi and Ruchie Weiss, native Jerusalemites, who have most of their extended family living nearby (I crashed the birthday party of their 4 year old niece and had a delicious taste of loving mishpoche). Telling the Weisses about my journey,  I recounted the amazing coincidence of meeting the Brigadier General at the Technion who had commanded the tank battalion that stoped the Syrians while I was a volunteer at Gonen. Avi then told me that his brother Israel Weiss was killed in the same battle as a forward commando. He showed me a book in Hebrew that had been compiled by the survivors of Israel Weiss’ unit as a joint recollection of what happened in that battle. Last year they gave copies of the book to all the families who had loved ones in that action. So I have found yet one more personal connection to that terrible battle in the Golan Heights in 1973.Avi treated me to a delightful dinner in the German Colony, the yuppie part of Jerusalem.  We dined Al Fresco at Calfit Restaurant and it felt like a European city with lots of young energy. Avi then took me to meet with Moshe Cutt, the director of Lev Ramot (heart of Ramut).

Lev Ramot is similar to Second Harvest in San Francisco. They collect unused food from restaurants and celebrations and bag it for delivery to needy residents of the Ramot neighborhood. With donations they also buy packaged goods needed by the families. A social worker, assigned by the city, determines what each family needs. Moshe enlists 150 volunteers to collect, box and deliver food weekly to 500 families in Ramot. The deliveries are made anonymously and the packages are left by the door at night. Moshe knocks and asks for the resident by name and then leaves before the door is opened. This is true Tsedakkah (righeous giving) because recipient retains their  dignity and the donor gets no recognition. I went on some of the deliveries with Moshe in his donated refrigerated truck (he has been doing this for fifteen years). He spoke to me in Hebrew and I only understood half of what he said, but since he repeated himself I guess I got most of what he wanted to tell me. The stories of the needy are heartbreaking, but the harnessing of the power of tsedakkahare inspiring. Such as when all the bar mitzvah or wedding guests bag the goods right from the festivities and residents of Ramot get the deliveries on the same night as the party.  

Moshe said he is called “Moshe Tosfut Yom Tov”  (extra holiday), based on a talmudic story which I had heard, but now that I have met Moshe, it has new meaning.

There was a rich man in a town who refused every request to give to charity. The rabbi in frustration said to the rich man that if he did not give when asked, the rabbi would see that when the rich man died he would be buried at the edge of the cemetary. When the rich man passed away the rabbi fulfilled his threat. However, after the funeral he found out from the poor that the rich man had given every week to them in such a way that no one knew, but they were sustained by his beneficence. The rabbi called the whole town together and made a request. When the rabbi died he wanted to be buried next to the rich man at the edge of the cemetary.

When you see Moshe, he does not look that much different than any 50 year old small, stocky Jewish man. However, through his deeds he is a spiritual giant. There are such people everywhere in the world. But seeing Moshe deliver food to the poor with the Jerusalem stone reflected by the moonlight, I felt elevated to a higher plane.