Last week in these pages you read about a terrific effort that is under way in the Five Towns community to lift the spirits and give encouragement to Moishie Reisman, a young man currently battling an often difficult to overcome malady. He loves music and has always been a big fan of singing sensation Shloime Dachs, who is known to always make that extra effort to assist those in need.
What is taking place as scores of people gather several times a week to sing and dance for Moishie is the consummate act of bikur cholim, not just visiting the sick, but in many instances providing them with the impetus to hang in there and carry on.
Visiting those confined to their home, to a hospital, or any number of health facilities is treated in our instruction books as a foundation and paramount mitzvah that takes precedence over many other acts of kindness that may be needed. In most areas around the world that are densely populated by Torah-observant Jews, structured groups of volunteers are customarily organized to visit and spend time with those who have taken ill and can benefit from some extra human interaction.
We can perhaps additionally appreciate what caring for the sick on this level can mean when we consider the mobilization to prayer taking place this week by Torah Jewry the world over for the benefit of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, shlita, the leading Torah sage of this generation, who is batting health problems at the age of 101 years. Not only are Jews gathered in prayer but scores have felt compelled to visit the hospital where the rav is being treated in Jerusalem. Visiting or even expressing support for those who are ill has been known to immeasurably lift their spirits and very often help facilitate the healing process.
A glance at bikur cholim listings on the Internet brings you to literally hundreds of such committees not only around the U.S. but around the world. Here on our sliver of Long Island that spills over into Far Rockaway we have a very active and vibrant Bikur Cholim group that does extraordinary work in a rather humble and unsung fashion. Now, at the initiative of community activist Sender Schwartz of Far Rockaway, and with the input and guidance of Rabbi Dovid Weinberger of Congregation Shaaray Tefila and Rabbi Eytan Feiner of Congregation Kneseth Israel, the local Bikur Cholim is being expanded and moving into a new direction.
The Five Towns-Far Rockaway Bikur Cholim has evolved over the years into a great organization that does vital and even life-giving work and is run efficiently by women in the community. As a result, a portion of its services have been focused for the most part for women.
The initiative by Mr. Schwartz, Rabbi Weinberger says, will focus on recruiting male volunteers in the area to visit sick men in their homes, in hospitals, and in nursing homes, in effect fulfilling the mandate and meaning of bikur cholim in a most thorough and comprehensive fashion. Mr. Schwartz, who was recently an honoree at the Bikur Cholim of Boro Park annual dinner, says that he hopes to incorporate the best of the services that the current local Bikur Cholim organization is dispensing with what other similar organizations do around the city.
Sender has already signed up over 100 volunteers. The Men’s Bikur Cholim already is fully functioning with visitations to homes and nursing homes, and Sender says that next week he will start visitations to hospitals. The elderly are also being transported to doctor visits and being returned safely to their homes. Sender says this new initiative has been well received, and he is receiving encouragement from all segments of the community to continue this vital work.
There is a great amount of work yet to be done, but future initiatives will follow once the initial goal of Bikur Cholim is fully functioning. Some of the goals are family crisis programs run by professionals, summer camp programs, community blood drives, programs for the elderly and Holocaust survivors, and establishing Bikur Cholim rooms in every hospital on Long Island. A central computer system is planned to include people who might be able to benefit from the Bikur Cholim.
Sender also has a goal to incorporate into the Bikur Cholim a centralized system where anyone who is sitting shivah will be listed. The individual davening times and locations where they are sitting will be available to everyone on this computer web site of the Bikur Cholim to enable everyone to have an opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of nichum aveilim.
More volunteers are needed, and he hopes to include volunteers from every shul in Far Rockaway and the Five Towns. He would like to see two volunteers from every shul who would be their shul’s coordinators.
To become a Bikur Cholim volunteer for this new men’s division, please call Sender Schwartz at 347-262-5005, or e‑mail him at Mensbikurcholim@aol.com. This e-mail address may also be used to notify the Bikur Cholim of people needing assistance.
Huffing And Puffing
Well, one way to stay off the Bikur Cholim lists might be to eat the right foods and undertake some kind of exercise regimen to keep the complicated assembly that you are composed of in its finest working condition. To that end, I joined a gym in town a few months ago, and I have been making it my business—when I’m in town—to be at the gym at least three and sometimes four mornings a week to work out.
I joined Life Clubs, which is just behind the Lawrence post office in Inwood. That’s where I met our very dynamic Ed Ruane who runs a state-of-the-art club with an impressive staff serving a notable clientele. Over the last few months the club has had its eatery, Life Café, come under the management of Max Shemesh and Sam Kasowitz. The café is a healthy eating haven that is under the supervision of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and features a very varied and tasty menu. Their coffee is something special too.
Sure, there can be inherent incongruities between exercising and dining, but I don’t think that is the case at Life Clubs. Max and Sam and their staff, along with the guidance of nutrition guru Dr. Rachael Schindler, have put together a great tasting menu that is compatible with healthy living.
The population in the gym and the exercise routines of various individuals is very diverse. It’s surprising sometimes who you run into at the gym, but everyone there has one high priority in common—maintaining one’s health. And any doctor will tell you that cannot be achieved without exercise.
Okay, so you may be curious about my regimen in the gym. It’s pretty simple, as well as painful. I have to admit that after the first few sessions I was able to stop taking Advil to alleviate the pain in my arms, my chest, and in my legs. I kept thinking when I started that my body was going to get used to this, and I kept repeating to myself, “No pain, no gain.”
I have someone guiding me through these workouts, and they are different when this person is there and on the occasions when I am there myself. I like to start with a half hour on the treadmill at a good pace that works up a sweat and gets all the muscles in my body in motion. Then we try to work on what are called “abs,” otherwise known as abdominal muscles—which is probably still the most difficult part of any workout—which still leaves me with lingering pain for a day after the workout.
The exercise equipment in Life Clubs is very sophisticated. Some of the equipment I’ve come to appreciate and even like. Other pieces of equipment I feel the opposite about, but I’ve also come to recognize their necessity. One thing I’ve discovered is that when you are stressing your muscles in one direction, it is a relief to exert yourself using a piece of equipment that takes you in another direction.
There’s a lot of walking, some running, along with some weight-lifting and stretching. You know, for the last 15 years or so I’ve been making routine visits every half year or so to a cardiologist just to keep tabs on what’s going on. He pretty much tells me the same thing every time I’m there, and that is that there is no substitute for exercise. Now I don’t have to tell him anymore that I am planning on embarking on an exercise plan in the near future. That future is here at Life Clubs.

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