Not Locked Up During Lockdown: Appreciating the Value of Volunteers

One might think that going door to door offering money and resources to aid families during lockdowns due to COVID-19 would be a simple thing. But what if those families were well off — affluent even — and found it ridiculous to be offered food or money for medications? As a Rising Trustee of the Mayberg Foundation, serving as a volunteer doing this work was a very different experience for me than what I was used to after years of observing philanthropic work in the office. At the foundation we value partnership between organizations to achieve clear and articulated goals, but volunteering for nonprofit organizations in Israel was a completely different form of collective effort. Why was I, as part of a group of Israeli and international mechinistim (a term for participants of a mechinah, preparatory gap year program) going door to door in an Arab village during the climax of the global pandemic, offering support? The answer lies in the culture of the state of Israel and the value it places on volunteering. 

From fall 2020 through spring 2021, I spent time learning and developing my political, intellectual, athletic and Jewish interests at a pluralistic pre-army-prep program in the Jerusalem Corridor. As a group of recent high school graduates, we endured three separate state-mandated lockdowns due to Coronavirus, each time worrying that our program would be forced to shut down and send us home, like so many other gap-year programs in Israel. As an international participant of an Israeli program — and far away from home — I was worried. Fortunately, our program found a solution - volunteerism - which upheld our operations despite the nationwide shutdowns. While some may consider this a loophole, I see it as an important statement about priorities and Jewish values. Israel as a country views volunteering as essential, acknowledging that society cannot operate properly with government support alone, especially during times of crisis. Israel’s very history as the Jewish homeland is derived from volunteers and pioneers sacrificing their lives to build the country with their bare hands. People’s donation of time and energy was essential. Because of the engrained Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, the importance of helping communities and thereby repairing the world, my group was able to stay together and do crucial work for the community during COVID lockdowns. 

We partnered with a variety of organizations throughout the months of our program which ultimately exposed me to a wide array of communal needs and cultures. The first organization called Lev Ehad sent us into the heart of Arab Abu Ghosh to go door-to-door checking on people’s needs and resource levels. Under the Lev Ehad umbrella, we were considered “essential workers'' and were permitted to walk or drive to areas in need, even during the most intense parts of the lockdown. We worked with Lev Ehad for about a month until we got our next volunteering assignment, which was agricultural-related. We spent three nights sleeping outside in the Yerucham desert, rising with the sun to spend the day picking pomegranates and olives for a farmer who had lost his workers when the virus began knocking out businesses. It ended up being a real bonding experience for the group, since we had so many hours together in the open air with nothing to keep us occupied other than the company of one another. An additional organization we volunteered for was Magen David Adom, where we packed COVID safety packages for essential workers, with items such as hazmat suits, masks and gloves — very relevant at that time. We also spent half a day every week volunteering within a youth village that acts as a home for kids with unstable family backgrounds located where our program was based. We helped with a variety of activities ranging from assisting with the kids in school, maintaining the therapeutic petting zoo and gardening to keep the campus beautiful. Having that consistent rotation was great for instilling the value of “Lo alecha ham'lacha ligmor, lo alecha ligmor. V'lo ata ben chorim l'hibatil mimena, v'lo ata ben chorin,” meaning, “It is not your duty to complete the work. Not up to you to finish it. But neither are you free to desist from it” (Pirkei Avot 2:16) Through these routines we found relevant ways to help out as the world changed around us. 

Throughout our volunteer experiences, there were many times when the work was not easy or satisfying, without a clear sense of the effort being worthwhile. Because of that, the constant theme we tried to keep in the forefront of our minds was that if there was a need, we had to step up to fulfill it. That kept us going.

If I learned anything from these experiences it’s that the first step of volunteering is showing up, but the second step is actually showing up.

It’s not enough just to physically be in the location of your volunteer service — one needs to be there completely in spirit, preparation and intention. At times during the year when I would go to bed too late the night before volunteering and then not have enough energy to do meaningful work the following day, I had to find it within myself to break that habit. I had to learn the hard way that impactful work is not the same as personally meaningful or enjoyable work. On the flipside, I encountered situations where the volunteering experience was fun, but I was struggling to see the meaning or impact of our time and work. This points to the importance of helping volunteers discover why their work is necessary and relevant in every case. Giving one’s time is too large of a personal commitment not to know why you’re really there, and I believe a knowledgeable volunteer would invest themselves more deeply knowing why it matters so much.

Naturally, my attitude towards volunteering shifted throughout the year. As a novice volunteer, I thought it essential that the volunteer work I was doing should be related to my personal interests. Though it’s true that being interested in the work you’re doing can enhance your performance and devotion, it’s more important to be serving the people and places in need and not just what you feel like doing. As a volunteer, it’s also important to check in with the organization you’re working with to evaluate if their needs are evolving, which should affect the work they are delegating. A thoughtful, well-run nonprofit should have a strategy to make sure their volunteers are doing updated and essential work, adapting to changes in need of the work, and not just filling time. Volunteers’ time should be taken seriously just like staff time. Torah-valuing nonprofits should consider if they’re truly honoring their volunteers’ time like they do for donors as volunteers are giving a precious resource, too. In some cases it’s proper for the volunteer to consider the circumstance as well. A few questions that may be helpful to ask volunteers are — are there excess volunteers here and are current assignments beneficial for the greater good even if the work is mundane? Sometimes it’s hard to answer these questions from a volunteer’s perspective, so make sure your inquiry is respectful and well meaning for the greatest outcomes.

I feel blessed to be involved with the Mayberg Foundation, which values collective effort and foundational Judaism. This means having an impact on communities we care about and on the world through our instilled Torah lens. I have had some incredible, expansive volunteer opportunities this past year, which further shape my understanding of philanthropy.

Some acts of chesed (kindness) require donations of money and some require donations of time — both are important in different contexts, and I feel proud to have experienced that first hand.

It’s beautiful that even during the thick of the COVID pandemic in Israel, the country found a way to meet its needs by prioritizing volunteer workers and giving them the ability to get out and do the important work. It’s clear that Judaism's tradition of Tikkun Olam is valued and in practice in modern day Israel, and here at the Mayberg Foundation. 

Yacova Mayberg is a graduate of Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy and is a Rising Trustee of the Mayberg Foundation as a next generation family member.