Rabbi Dovid Rosenbaum has been Rabbi of Young Israel Shomrai Emunah in Silver Spring for 13 years and a member of the Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Washington for 23 years.

I had a connection to Tomchei Shabbos from the very beginning, 16 or 17 years ago. I remember it was a very simple project, just intended to help a handful of families. It’s truly inspiring how it has grown to be such a tremendous source of vital chesed throughout our community.

People have all kinds of financial challenges that really run the gamut. The most obvious is someone who is simply not able to meet their expenses. Maybe they’re not able to get the type of job they need to meet their expenses. Some people in the community are in between jobs. Thank G-d, they’re very capable, very successful, but there are a lot of expenses for an Orthodox family in our community — and they just need help bridging the gap. And then there are people who are gainfully employed, but have sudden expenses, significant expenses. Yad Yehuda is able to help people in any of these categories.

I heard a commercial — not a Yad Yehuda commercial, but it makes me think of people in our community. The commercial depicts a family trying to figure out which expenses to pay. To even think about that, to try to wrap your mind around that…

What do they pay? Do they turn on the air conditioning this week or do they spend the extra money on food? What a terrible thing to even consider. There are people — individuals, couples, families — in our community that simply don’t have the funds to meet their needs. The idea of having to make these terrible choices…it’s just sad to even reflect on.

But the idea that people in need can turn to this wonderful Tomchei Shabbos program, this beautiful Yad Yehuda organization — and in a very concrete way, be told, “We’ll provide X dollars for you to cover your food needs” — that’s incredible.

The focus is on Shabbos, but whatever their food needs are, that’s one box they can check off. It’s a significant step toward financial relief; one terrible decision they don’t have to make. It’s a tremendous help to the adults of a household — and you don’t have to be very imaginative to understand the trickle-down effect for every member of that home, young or old.

It’s a very interesting thing to think about: A family is experiencing financial needs, and all the strains and stresses that come along with that, and then they’re given these cards that help them. So, first of all, that’s a kindness in its own right, for any day of the week.

But just imagine: We all appreciate how important it is to come into Shabbos with a feeling of happiness and gratitude for the past week and hope for the week to come. So imagine trying to experience that when you don’t have the basics that you need, the basic food for your children. Now imagine how different that family Shabbos is when you can get grape juice for the kids, when you are able to have challah on the table, and maybe even pick up something for dessert.

You’ve changed the Shabbos for this family. You’ve elevated the religious experience of Shabbos for them. You’ve increased the joy of Shabbos for them. That feeling can stay with a person or a family for the whole week, that greater sense of gratitude and spiritual connection.

There are so many individuals and families in our community that benefit from Tomchei Shabbos; think about how widespread this distribution must be. You may not know anyone who needs Tomchei Shabbos — but it’s very possible that your child has a classmate whose family benefits from Tomchei Shabbos. The odds are very great that whenever you walk into a shul on Shabbos in Greater Washington, there’s someone in that room who benefited that week from Tomchei Shabbos. Think of a wonderful person who might be sitting next to you in shul, who has a good, solid job. That person might have lost their job last week.

One of the most difficult parts of the rabbinate is to have someone reach out and share that they have serious financial difficulties. It’s embarrassing. It’s demoralizing. It’s uncomfortable.

I feel so fortunate to be a rabbi in a community with this tremendous chesed organization, Yad Yehuda, so I can actually say to people: There’s a source for help and they will keep it all confidential.

That turns a very difficult conversation into a conversation of hope.

We all have a responsibility. If I knew a neighbor or someone within the Greater Washington Jewish community had needs, it would be my responsibility to help fill those needs.

But no one’s going to knock on the average person’s door and
ask for money.

We’re all part of a broader community. When we contribute to Tomchei Shabbos, and do so with the tremendous generosity that characterizes the Greater Washington community, we have a share in each and every one of those conversations of hope. And all of these people in need — we’re fulfilling our obligation to help each and every one of them.

We just don’t know who they are. We don’t know where they are. And even if we did — how much can I help? Five dollars? Ten dollars? Twenty dollars? But when we become part of this greater pool of Tomchei Shabbos, we have a share in so much money being given to so many individuals in need.

Yad Yehuda in general, and Tomchei Shabbos in particular, provides each and every one of us so many opportunities to participate in the mitzvah of tzedakah. If we’re thoughtful about it and communicate with our families about it, it’s a golden opportunity for chinuch, to educate our children.

Whether you’re writing a check to Yad Yehuda or going online to make a donation to their Tomchei Shabbos campaign, tell your children: There’s an organization that is my emissary to perform the mitzvah of tzedakah in the best way possible — helping neighbors who will benefit from it as much as possible — and that’s why I allocate tzedakah funds for Yad Yehuda.

That’s what’s happening every time you make a donation to Yad Yehuda. We’re so grateful to each and every one of the people that make up this remarkable organization and so thankful for the opportunity each time we make a donation.