T orah P ortion
CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
‘Open Up Your Hearts ...’
BY RABBI CHUCK DIAMOND
Parshat Eikev
WE WAKE UP each morning
thanking God for putting the
breath of life into us. We pray,
appreciating the continual
acts of God’s creation each
and every day. Yet this is not
enough. We must remember
who we are and where we
came from. We must, as Moses
enjoins the people of Israel
as they prepare to enter the
Promised Land, “revere the
Lord your God to walk only in
His paths, to love Him and to
serve the Lord your God with
all your heart and soul.”
In this parshat, we are told to
“circumcise” our hearts: “Cut
away therefore, the thickening
about your hearts and stiffen
your necks no more.” The Etz
Chaim commentary teaches us
this means the “foreskin” of
our heart: “The foreskin is what
blocks your heart and renders
[it] inaccessible to God’s
Lone Continued from Page 6
honor Michael’s legacy with us,
as we have been doing for the
past 15 years since his fall,”
said Michal Berman, CEO of
the Lone Soldier Center.

Along with raising aware-
ness of lone soldiers in
Michael Levin’s name, Mark
and Harriet Levin are hoping
Knesset members will start a
committee to lobby for a line in
the Knesset’s budget for assis-
tance to lone soldiers.

Mark and Harriet Levin
have been espousing support
for lone soldiers for several
years, but started The Michael
Levin Lone Soldier Foundation
five years ago to be able to
provide greater financial
assistance for lone soldier
organizations in Israel.

They currently help support
a handful of Israeli organiza-
tions supporting lone soldiers,
such as the Lone Soldier Center,
to whom they provide 80% of
the organization’s funding.

Lizzie Noach, who works
in community relations at
the organization, said the
funds were instrumental in
supporting the center last
year during the pandemic, as
the organization, which was
deemed “essential,” worked to
create weekly to-go Shabbat
dinners for lone soldiers.

Though Michael Levin’s
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Michael Levin’s grave
Courtesy of Mark and Harriet Levin
teachings. It is a metaphor for
the mental obstruction that has
made Israel stubborn.”
We live in a world filled
with the wonders of God. Yet
there is so much that calls
out for our attention, our
caring, our action. We must be
“God-like” in that we “show no
favor and take no bribe, that
we must uphold the cause of
the fatherless and the widow,
and befriend the stranger,
providing him with food and
clothing.” “Michael’s story was an
ever-present reminder that
what I was doing wasn’t a
game, that I was fighting for
something that I very much
believed in,” Klazmer said.

Klazmer was
part of NextGen, the Jewish
Federation’s affinity group for
young professionals, when it
helped to create The Levin
Society, a new donor level at
the Jewish Federation for those
giving $2,500 annually.

“We wanted to name [the
society] after a young, Jewish,
local person who had name
recognition and represented
everything we want in a leader
for the Jewish community,”
said Matt Shipon, NextGen’s
outgoing board chair who
head-started The Levin
Society’s creation and naming.

According to Klazmer, there
were no other name candi-
dates; it could only be Michael
Levin. In Israel and Philadelphia,
Michael Levin’s legacy is
interwoven in the missions
of several organizations and
individuals, even a decade and
a half after his passing.

“His legacy is that all that
has been established in the past
15 years, is all because of him,
because of his vision, because of
his dream,” Mark Levin said. l
parents have supported lone
soldiers since their son’s death,
advocating for lone soldiers
was Michael Levin’s dream
since he enlisted in the IDF.

During Michael Levin’s
service in the IDF, he slept
on park benches for a couple
nights, not having anywhere
else to stay.

According to Mark Levin,
no lone soldier centers or
organizations existed when his
son was a soldier.

Four years after Michael
Levin’s death, Adam Klazmer,
the incoming NextGen board
chair at the Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia, also
joined the IDF as a lone
soldier. Klazmer went to the
same summer camp as Michael
Levin — Camp Ramah in
the Poconos. He didn’t know
Michael Levin but knew of srogelberg@jewishexponent.com:
him; everyone did, he said.

215-832-0741 JEWISH EXPONENT
July 30
Aug. 6
We are a people who have
suffered greatly throughout
history. How can we turn
our backs on those who are
suffering? How do we ignore
the atrocities both large and
small of the world around us?
We must open our hearts to the
teachings of God and let those
teachings guide us in helping
to make this world a better
place. There is a lot that needs
“fixing,” so many causes that
could use a helping hand. If all
Open Continued from Page 7
“We need all the help we
can get packing boxes at our
warehouse, where it’s easy to
social distance and masks are
required,” Gurevich said.

The next food distribution
is Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. and will
be the largest Rosh Hashanah
distribution in the organiza-
tion’s history.

KleinLife 7:58 p.m.

7:50 p.m.

of us pitch in we can make a
difference. In the famous words of
Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the
Fathers): “If I am not for myself,
who will be for me? But if I am
only for myself, then what am
I? And if not now then when?”
So “circumcise your hearts”
and open yourself to the needs
of the world around us.

Shabbat Shalom. Be safe! l
Rabbi Chuck Diamond is rabbi of
Kehillah La La in Pittsburgh.

Overall, KleinLife is eager
to bring back its programs.

“Knowing that we’re getting
closer to bringing back that
vibrancy to our organization
makes us excited,” Hampson
said. Jewish Family &
Children’s Service of
Southern New Jersey
After switching to a remote
format during the pandemic,
Jewish Family & Children’s
Service of Southern New Jersey
is making plans to reopen.

It’s now operating under
a hybrid schedule with some
programs in person, but the
majority remain virtual. The
staff is looking forward to
reinstating its Project Rainbow
groups for LGBTQ+ teenagers
and Hope & Healing and
Cafe Europa programs for
Holocaust survivors.

“This vulnerable popula-
tion, in particular, really needs
in-person contact whenever
possible,” Director of Marketing
and Communications Rachael
Ovitz said.

Under the hybrid model,
staff is working in the office up
to two days per week, with a
full return by Oct. 4. l
Like JRA, KleinLife never
stopped its vital programs.

Their Home Delivered Meals
program continued, and the
organization began virtual
programming for seniors.

KleinLife began a soft
opening to slowly start to
switch back to its pre-pan-
demic schedule. The fitness
center and swimming pool are
open for members through a
reservation system, summer
day camp is in full operation
and the weekly farmers market
is reopened.

Marketing Director
Stephanie Hampson said
Kleinlife is constantly refer-
ring to Centers for Disease
Control & Prevention guide-
lines and assessing programs
on an ongoing basis. Things Leah Snyderman is an intern for
can change fast, so one of the Jewish Exponent.

biggest challenges is ensuring
compliance with the most-re- www.jewishexponent.com
cent guidelines and restrictions.

JULY 29, 2021
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