One of the most unique and special aspects of the Jewish community is its commitment to chesed and helping others. Yoshi Spivak, a Heichal HaTorah Bais Medrash Program student living in Teaneck, is someone who lives those values every day. After noticing countless emails and messages describing the need for donations to help individuals with life-threatening illnesses, Yoshi decided to do whatever he could to help.
“It’s very important to help fellow Jews when you can,” he said in an interview with The Jewish Link, which was why he decided to condense all these donation efforts into a WhatsApp group chat in an effort to make these donation requests more accessible to all people.
With the aid and encouragement of his parents, friends and several rebbeim at his school, including Rabbi Moshe Don Kestenbaum, Yoshi built his “Life-Saving Chesed” group chat. He was inspired by his rebbeim at Heichal Hatorah, who taught him the importance of caring for the Jewish people and making a difference in the world.
Yoshi sends notifications of about two cases per week to the nearly 300 individuals in the chat. Each text has a brief description of the case and an easily accessible link to a donation page.
These cases are those of dire importance, people who are in desperate need of financial help due to their illnesses. Yoshi receives the information about these cases from personal emails and texts and makes sure that they are legitimate causes. He is also connected with multiple rebbeim and other chesed organizations in order to gather and spread information about as many people in need as possible.
“It’s not ok for people to die just because they don’t have enough money,” Yoshi said. While the chat now has many participants from all over the New York and New Jersey area, Yoshi hopes to continue its growth. After all, the chat started with only about 100 people, mainly students of Heichal Hatorah, and quickly more than doubled in size.
Yoshi understands that many people are unable to donate money; however, even spreading the information about these people and their illnesses is important to him. He believes that even a single dollar makes a difference, and this unique opportunity allows countless individuals to participate in an incredible chesed.
To join the chat, visit https://bit.ly/3wGRb2e or email Yoshi with any questions, comments or concerns at [email protected].
Ayelet Glaser is an intern at The Jewish Link and a rising sophomore at Barnard College.
