JDC Kharkov Establishes "Volunteer Day"

The Talmudic expression, "Do what you demand of others," teaches how important it is in Judaism to lead by example. Organized by the JDC office in Kharkov, 40 volunteers from the JDC-sponsored Hesed and Jewish Community Center (JCC) illustrated this virtue, working for a day in the Jewish cemetery in Kharkov.

Since World War II, a very large Jewish cemetery in Kharkov has been mostly abandoned; there is no one to care for the gravesites because most of the families of those buried in the cemetery were killed, exiled, or assimilated as a result of the Holocaust or were abandoned after their entire family emigrated to Israel and other countries. Many of the plots are overgrown with weeds and headstones are broken by trees that have fallen on them. As part of the restorative project, a mass grave from the Holocaust was cleaned and restored.

During "Volunteer Day," Yuri, the welfare coordinator in the JDC office, explained the importance of volunteering and especially of caring for the dead. Hesed Emet, he explained to the volunteers, is the highest form of tzedakah (charity) that one can give, as the dead can never repay you for the deed you did for them. Some of the volunteers found relatives' graves that had not been visited in years.

This act of goodwill is one of many events that have ensued as part of a Volunteerism and Leadership Initiative in Northern and Eastern Ukraine. In the winter of 2004 a large Volunteerism and Leadership Exhibition and Conference took place, and many of the Jewish organizations in the region are in the process of developing volunteer programs for young families and students.

By creating "Volunteer Day," JDC is spurring an acculturation process of giving and showing how what an important virtue volunteering is in the Jewish community.