someplace, they send supplies over. The
supplies get used up, so they have to be
repacked, of course.”
Just as Berk used to have a job as an
electrical contractor in New York City
before retiring a few years ago, now he’s
found this. But he wants company.

“We need help,” said the Brooklyn
native, who’ll periodically cross the
Atlantic to spend time with Weiss and visit
his sons, David and Lenny, in North
Jersey. “They get people from France and
other countries, but they seem to have a
shortage of Jewish people.

“Instead of taking that trip to Florida
for a couple of months, you should come
over here. After I stopped working and my
wife died, I wondered, ‘What am I going to
do? Where am I needed?’
“When I came to Sar-El, I thought, ‘I’m
needed here.’ Since I’m needed here, I
decided I’m coming here.”
It makes sense when you factor in his
commitment, coupled with the family ties
he already has.

“He feels a very deep connection and
feels he’s doing something worthwhile for
Israel,” Weiss said. “I give him lot of credit.

“He’s a worker. He doesn’t like to sit
still. But he doesn’t want to just work. He
wants to work for Israel.”
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And after Berk finishes his current visit
to the States, Weiss will accompany him in
Israel for a few months.

“We’re unskilled labor, taking the place
of soldiers so they can do what they do,” the
81-year-old Weiss said. “We feel good about
it. He says it was beshert we met when we
did because I wasn’t looking for anybody
and I’m sure he wasn’t after losing his wife.”
She said it’s far too early to decide
whether she’ll ever make aliyah herself,
but commends Nefesh b’Nefesh for
making Berk’s transition so smooth.

“Nefesh B’Nefesh got me here and gave
me a terrific job,” Berk said. “They’re always
asking me what kind of help do I need.

“The last few weeks, they helped me get
all my papers straightened out. The whole
operation’s gone very smoothly.”
That was seldom the case for Berk
during his childhood.

“I remember very little of my past,” said
Berk, who grew up being shuttled around
by a foster care association in New York
before going to a family whose religious
beliefs were “as close to Communism as
you can get.”
“But I have the type of past I’m not
really interested in remembering. All I can
think about is tomorrow. That sort of
leads to why I’m in Israel now.”
He said whether you’re Reform,
Conservative, Reconstructionist, Orthodox
or even secular, it doesn’t really matter.

“My wife was Orthodox, so we went to
Rockwood Park Jewish Center,” he
recalled, “but I just consider myself Jewish.

“Judaism is a great religion. You can
pick whatever you want to be. I hate
people who want put you in a box. Just be
part of the community and enjoy life.”
Berk’s doing precisely that.

“They’ve fixed up the beach here better
than it was,” said Berk, who lives in the Tel
Aviv suburb of Tel HaShomer. “They’ve
got exercise equipment and people flying
kites on the water and in sailboats.

“I miss America. No question, it’s a
great place. But I always said to my kids,
‘Make your own decisions and do what
you think is best. And be helpful.’”
Clearly, Berk has practiced what he
preached. And each time he goes to the
Sar-El base in Matzrap that gets reinforced.

“Working on an army base, what can
be better?” he asked. “They get me up
around 7 a.m. Give us food. Give us a
bed. It’s an excellent program. But we
need help.” l
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MAY 18, 2017
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