Community is a place to feel connected, to be embraced, to care and be cared for.

 

Working at both the Family Kitchen dinners and the Back Door Café breakfasts I am in awe of the people who we serve to, and those that we serve with.

 

This has been an unusually cold and snowy winter. The number of people that we serve in the kitchens is surprisingly down. It is harder for folks to leave their tents and blankets, to walk the icy or slushy streets, to make their way in to eat. Those who do are often soaked from the slog through the streets.

 

I was talking with one of the breakfast regulars and asked if he had a place to sleep indoors. Yes, finally, he had an apartment. He said that he'd been homeless for six years, and that he was surprised that he was so good at it. Maybe if he hadn't been so good at it, God would've noticed and he'd have gotten a place sooner! And he laughed at himself.

 

Watching the interactions, the friendships, the hugs they give each other - they are a community. If a face is missing in the crowd, someone can generally account for that person's whereabouts. They may look ragtag from the outside, but from within they are connected to each other.

 

I see a mirror of their community in those of us who serve them. More than 40 people in the TBT community - both our members and friends - volunteer on a regular basis to cook and serve and clean for those who are not as fortunate as we are. We always greet each other with hugs. If someone is absent, then someone else can account for him or her.

 

The most obvious trait that we all share is that each of us takes joy in our task. It is written in our smiles and our laughter. Nobody whines about their job. Nobody ever says no to anything that is asked. We joke about needing an MD, PhD or MBA to do the dishes. We claim we are earning our God-points. But we do it because it makes us feel so good.

 

And now we have seen the real fruits of our kitchen labors - our community's children are modeling their behavior on ours. Before we had a BBYO, we were always able to bring our kids together by asking them to cook and serve at Bethlehem Inn. Now, our newly chartered Shalom Teva BBYO group was recognized at the Northwest convention for their project to clothe the homeless. And the only help they got from us was in the form of used clothing donations. They collected and sorted and gave to those they saw in need.

 

In March, both the BBYO and COJY (6th - 8th graders) are coming to Family Kitchen to cook, serve, and clean for dinner alongside the adults.

 

If the success of a synagogue can be measured by the Jewish values of its youth, then we are a huge success.