by Adam Shapiro

March 26, 2009

I have spent the past six years working at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, and in that time I have seen our students do some amazing things. I have seen them spend innumerable hours working throughout their communities helping people old and young. Students have pushed and challenged me to help them find meaningful projects to fill their weekends and free time.

Our students have done great work in Israel and Chile and remain committed to “getting their hands dirty” year after year as they continue to participate in rebuilding New Orleans. Our students have approached me countless times as they figure out the best ways to speak with their teachers about extensions on papers in order to spend even more time with their special-needs buddies in the Friendship Circle. Our students teach me every day what it means to live a life full of tikun olam (repairing the world).

A Schechter student may inevitably be a member of a sports team, have a role in the school play, or work with a club that meets after school. Being a student at Schechter means that, by choice, the only time he or she will get home at a reasonable time is for Shabbat on Friday. Whether staying late to run alongside a friend participating in a 5K run for charity, working with underprivileged students in need of a little extra love and attention, or giving time to one of many other projects, activities, homework, and sporting events, Schechter students find the time to squeeze it all in.

Recently, in the middle of the last week of an academically intensive semester, over 200 Schechter high school students boarded six buses to spend a “day of service” to our larger secular and Jewish communities throughout Essex County. This third annual “All High School Community Service Day” was created, organized, developed, and structured by a group of students. Our administration fully supported our students with the belief that we are obligated to take a day out of our studies to give back to the community. The notion is inherent to our mission that our students “serve proudly as citizens and leaders of their communities.”

What does it mean to serve proudly? It means that when Schechter students stepped off those buses they were not merely excited to have a day off from school but were eager to be of assistance and willing to go that extra mile if it meant that someone else less fortunate would benefit.

It meant spending time serving food to the homeless, sorting clothing for those in need, and helping at a school where students have severe learning and behavioral disabilities. It meant playing games and bringing smiles to the faces of many sick and elderly individuals and doing art projects and singing with developmentally disabled adults and children. Most of all, it meant taking a step back and truly understanding what it means to be part of a community that cares, a community that believes in tikun olam.

Students sometimes ask me if this sort of “service” is truly worth it — if their actions make a difference. My answer, though always different, ends the same way: One person can absolutely change the world. Naturally, I get mixed reactions; some students take pride and walk away happy, while others smirk and walk away with doubt on their faces. I always wonder if they understand how exceptional they are and how their work effects change.

As I sat with our Hurricane Katrina Relief Mission students in New Orleans last year, I got my answer. They finished their volunteer activities playing with and teaching underprivileged students and had completed their work with Habitat for Humanity by erecting exterior walls to a brand-new house. While we traded stories and reflected on the fun and challenging accomplishments, one student said, “Now I know what it really means to make a difference. Because of the work that we did on that house, someone will be able to move in a few days earlier; had we not been here, who knows when they would be able to move in?”

Tikun olam takes on many different faces. Sometimes it means physical labor, sometimes it means monetary contributions, other times it means being there for those in need. No matter how it is defined, we all know it when we see it.

Walk into our school, stroll the hallways, notice the posters on the walls, and speak with our students. You will not only encounter talented young men and women who care deeply about their own success in life and working to their potential, but you will realize that they are individuals who want others to share in their dreams and will do whatever necessary to help make those dreams a reality.

Adam Shapiro is the dean of students at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in West Orange.

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