Newsletter Article
January 2010
Temple Bat Yam believes in honoring and supporting our troops in Iran and Afghanistan. As a part of our outreach program, we participate in two projects for our soldiers. Operation Paperback is a non-profit grass roots program founded in 1999 as one way of showing appreciation for the sacrifices our military men and women make every day—often far from home. Temple Bat Yam collects and ships “gently used” books to our troops. The Temple began this project in February 2006, and has sent thousands of books overseas.
The second way Temple Bat Yam honors our troops is that, on several Shabbat services a month before we recite Kaddish, we read the names of soldiers who have recently fallen in the line of duty. It is very moving and meaningful to hear the names, which are read from the bimah. It reminds us of what is going on in the world, of those lives which have been lost so that we may be secure and safe. And it connects us to the men and women who serve in our armed forces in a personal and immediate way. When I read the names I find myself wondering what kind of people they were, what their dreams and hopes might have been, and about the families they left behind.
As a way of reaching out to the families of the soldiers, the temple sends a letter to each family. This letter, which is called “From Our Hearts to Yours,” is put out on a table at the oneg on the Shabbats that the names are read, and everyone in the congregation is encouraged to sign them. Congregants then carefully and lovingly package the letters in cardboard, so that they will not be damaged or bent in the mail. Many families keep a book of life or a scrapbook to remember a son or daughter they have lost, and this letter is often included in these scrapbooks.
The temple has received many letters back from families thanking us for this letter, and we have our own “Book of Life” with letters from the families of the troops that we have honored. This book is kept on the table outside the sanctuary, and I invite you all to look at it. One recent letter read: “Dear Kind People of Temple Bat Yam: I am in receipt of your letter letting me know that you prayed for and honored my son…the kindness of strangers such as yourselves, has helped me remain graceful and strong in my faith.” Another recent thank you says: “Thank you so much. I really don’t have the words to say what a beautiful letter. It brings me great joy to know that we are all in this together. What a great country. Thank you for your prayers. I really do appreciate them.”
These are good projects that the temple does. Please bring your “gently read” paperbacks and put them in the boxes in the hallway near the library. Although the cardboard for the soldier’s letters is donated it is expensive to mail the letters. We need donations to help defray the mailing costs; hopefully we will need to send out fewer and fewer letters, but until that happens it would be a real mitzvah if each member of the congregation could send in a small donation for mailing. If we each send a little, it will add up to the entire congregation participating in this very important mitzvah project. Thank you, in advance, for your help and support. Sometimes it is the (seemingly) little things that can make a real difference in someone’s life.
