Bikor Cholim

In November, 1988, Congregation Neve Shalom formed a Bikkur Cholim (Visiting the Sick) corp. Interested congregants attended training sessions conducted by Rabbi Zelizer and several health professionals, and then we completed the required volunteer course at JFK Medical Center in Edison. Neve Shalom Bikkur Cholim volunteers, have visited JFK’s Jewish patients Monday through Friday and Sunday during the day and Thursday evening for over 14 years. Throughout the years, we always received a positive response to our visits. Our visits provide some relief from the eternally long hospital day, and we also offer relief to visiting family members.

Flora B. Cowen, a member of the Neve Shalom Bikkur Cholim Corp shares a unique experience:

I always felt that I received more from the visits than I gave — I liked meeting the patients, playing the inevitable game of Jewish geography, and just connecting with other Jewish people. I never really believed in the power of the Bikkur Cholim visit.

That is, until I was a patient for nine days in October 2002 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. On the third day of my hospitalization, Yael, who identified herself as a student at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of Penn Hillel, stopped by my room to say hello. We talked about her major, where she was from, and what her future plans included. When she left, I realized that she had been a bright spot in a long day, and I appreciated her visit.

The next day, Friday, Rosalind Glazer visited just before Shabbat. Rosalind, a mature (30+ years old, I’m guessing) rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Seminary in Philadelphia, responded to my the show request for a misheberach with a lovely, caring English prayer, created for me on the spot. Again, I felt uplifted after her visit.

Finally, at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Shabbat, a quintet (count ‘em!) of fresh-faced young men from Penn Hillel, complete with prayerbooks and kippot, filed into my room to offer their wishes for a r’fua shlema. I was starting to feel much, much better — physically and spiritually!

Now that I’ve seen Bikkur Cholim from the other side of a hospital bed, I know that it will strengthen my own commitment to the mitzvah of Bikkur Cholim. Perhaps my experience will encourage you to consider becoming a member of the Neve Shalom Bikkur Cholim group.

Please contact Rena Mullin at 732-548-6287 to learn more about this wonderfully fulfilling volunteer position.