“What’s so important in the mitzvah of bikur cholim [visiting the sick] is to make [ailing people] feel less alone,” said Rabbi Michel Twerski of Congregation Beth Jehudah. “For the sick person, just being there is important.”
Twerski spoke on Sept. 14 to about 50 people at the home of Sarah and Ben Karen in Glendale. This group had gathered to create a new Jewish organization in the Milwaukee area, an organization of a type that had once existed but had disappeared.
They were creating a new society for visiting the sick, to be known as Bikur Cholim of Milwaukee. Froedtert Hospital is to be the first hospital involved in the program.
Julie Frank Hirschman, a one-time professional organizer, and Barbara Grande, a former speech therapist at St. Joseph’s Hospital, organized the gathering.
Julie Frank Hirschman approached the president of Froedtert Hospital, Catherine Buck, with the proposal of having Jewish volunteers from the new society visit Jewish patients at the hospital.
Buck, who also spoke at the gathering, was immediately receptive to the idea. She was already familiar with the religious needs of Jewish patients through working with Froedtert’s Jewish chaplain, Rabbi Melech Lensky.
“Such a community organization is of paramount importance to Froedtert’s Jewish inpatient population,” Buck said. “Healing occurs when we attend to all elements of a person, and there is a need for the support of the community.”
Twerski in his remarks elaborated on the mitzvah. “We are called upon to emulate the Almighty. There are three mitzvahs of paramount importance: clothing the naked; burying the dead; and visiting the sick.
“When the Almighty created Adam, He saw that it was not good for men to be alone. Aloneness is not a bearable state in ill health. People are anxious when their health is compromised. When health is compromised people feel alone and vulnerable.”
“I’m here to congratulate a monumental and crucial effort to emulate the Master of the Universe,” Twerski said.
Julie Frank Hirschman said that the organization’s website is being developed and should be operative in about a month. She also said there would be other meetings as well.
She said the involvement with Froedtert is just the beginning. She felt that the group had to work with the hospital for at least six months before interfacing with another hospital or nursing home.
“The group would include members of every greater Milwaukee area Jewish denomination, whether Reform, Conservative or non-affiliated,” she said.
One of her ideas was that the organization would ask Jewish school children to make cards for the patients.
Those at the gathering were given cards to fill out with their contact information. All volunteers will be trained by Froedtert.
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can e-mail julianellyfrank@gmail.com or call 414-988-5236.
Arlene Becker Zarmi is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 40 publications nationwide. She was also the producer and host of a travel TV show for Viacom, and is a Jewish genre and portrait artist.
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