I am blessed with the opportunity to do amazing chesed. As a part of Bruriah’s chesed choir, I perform at nursing homes to help brighten the residents’ days.

After weekly rehearsals during lunch, we visit various nursing homes and perform a number of songs. Our most recent visit was to Daughters of Miriam. The room was filled with joyous singing, as the residents of the Miriam Apartments gladly joined in.

This choir has been a phenomenon for many years, and this year it made an exciting addition! For the first time, we were accompanied by Bruriah’s recently formed chesed chamber group. Our musicians played flutes, piano, violin, guitar and even harp! The residents were so impressed with the quality of the performance, and also with the effort and sentiment that the girls had put into preparing something so special for their benefit. It was simply beautiful! It was fulfilling seeing the looks of happiness on the residents’ faces. They kept on repeating, “Thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me!” They were all so nice and so thankful that we took time to come visit them.

This event brought happiness to the residents and changed my life. While singing Hatikva, I noticed a man with a walker who stood up to sing along and begin to cry. After we finished singing we had time to shmuz with the residents, so I asked him why he cried. He told me that he had fought for Israel in the War of Independence and that every time he hears Hatikva he cries. I was amazed!

I thanked him and he continued. He began to tell me his life story, of how he came to America and started a life for himself. As we spoke I realized how lucky I am to be born with the ability to go to Israel any time I’d like. This man was truly an inspiration to me! He was a window into a time I would otherwise only be able to read about. Singing with the chesed choir has given me an opportunity I might otherwise never have had.

By Miri Nash (‘18)