Elizabeth, NJ—A Hillside family has proven that it’s never too early to teach children the values of tzedakah (charity). Seth and Suries Dombeck sat down with their three eldest children on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and watched as the kids broke open their respective tzedakah boxes and counted their money. The children had been putting their own money into the boxes daily for an entire year, since the previous Rosh Hashana, sometimes just a penny or two, and, when able, sometimes more.

“The lessons we are trying to impart are invaluable,” said their father Seth, an alumnus of the JEC and a practicing attorney in Teaneck, who is also running for Council-at-Large on incumbent Mayor Joseph Menza’s ticket in the November 5th Hillside Township elections. “They are learning to give charity, to be generous and to think about the concerns of other people; not to mention they are working on their math skills,” he explained. “It is even teaching them patience,” as it is not easy for a child of five to engage in an activity for an entire year without knowing the end result. “These are all important qualities that make one not only a good person, but also a good neighbor.”

Seth and Suries encouraged the children to consider which charities to donate their funds to and Binyamin chose the Jewish Educational Center, where he is a student and of which both of his parents are alumni—Seth from the RTMA Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy (’99) and Suries from Bruriah High School for Girls (’99).

“It is gratifying to see the torch of loyalty and support pass from generation to generation,” said JEC Associate Dean Rabbi Eliyahu Teitz, who accepted the check from Binyamin this morning. “The Dombecks have been close friends of the JEC for many decades, and Binyamin’s parents have done a great job at inculcating the values of communal responsibility and pride in all of their children.”

“Binyamin’s act of tzedakah today will encourage other children his age and even older to take an active role in social action of this nature, and ought to reassure people of all ages that it’s never too early, or too late for that matter, to make a difference, and that every bit counts.”

For further information, please contact Adina Abramov, JEC’s chief marketing officer  at (908) 355-4850, extension 118 or aabramov_thejec.org .