The fifth and sixth grade girls from Toras Chaim took a trip to the Maimonides Health Center in Virginia Beach on Monday, June 10.
An innovative idea of Kayla Weinreb to teach her students about the act of chessed (kindness) while bringing joy to the Center’s residents, this was the second trip of its kind this year.
Weinreb says that her goal is to make it a fun and positive experience for everyone involved: the girls feel fulfilled with their acts of giving and the seniors enjoy a fun-filled day of upbeat energy and companionship.
Rabbi Lessoff, rabbi of Maimonides Health Center, spoke to the residents and students about the holiday of Shavuos during the visit. The Toras Chaim students decorated beautiful cupcakes resembling har Sinai with the residents. Together, they also created a beautiful faux flower arrangement in honor of the holiday.
Everyone in the room felt the energy, according to Sarel Widroff, a fifth-grade student at the Portsmouth school. Sarel says that the time spent with the people of Maimonides Health Center was special to her and that the girls get so excited when they hear a trip is being planned. “Being able to make the elderly people smile is a small act of kindness that is really a big, important mitzvah. We get as much from being with them as they do from spending time with us.”
Weinreb plans for trips to Maimonides to be a regular occurrence in the coming school year, something the students and the residents both look forward to.
