Tikvat Israel is more than just a congregation for prayer services and learning Torah. It is a caring community that reaches out to Israel and the wider community; it also reaches in to help those in our congregation who are going through hard times due to a death in the family or illness. The Hevra Kadisha deals with matters of death and mourning; Bikur Holim deals with helping the sick.

Bikur Holim means visiting the sick. We all know that if we are in the hospital or need to stay at home a visit goes a long way to lifting our spirits. Tikvat Israel has a very active committee of volunteers who not only visit and make phone calls to our congregants who are going difficult times due to illness, but we also provide meals, rides to the doctor, and run errands. This help is greatly appreciated and often the recipients of this care turn into volunteers so they can repay the favor.

Of course for Bikur Holim to do its work effectively, we need to be informed of congregants who are ill and may need a visit or some help. Services of Bikur Holim can be set in motion by contacting the synagogue office or Louise Chatlynne.

Many in the congregation are unaware of this committee's work and the volunteers we do have are sometimes pulled in too many directions to be asked to help again and again. We are always looking for new people willing to help with a visit, a meal, or to run errands. It is a mitzvah where a little effort gets a big payback. Please let me know if you are willing to help. If you are a volunteer and have not heard from me recently, I do not have your current email. I am particularly looking for someone who can contact volunteers who do not care to communicate by email, but prefer to work by telephone.

Louise Chatlynne
cchatlynn@comcast.net
301-330-9349

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	Tikvat Israel Congregation 2200 Baltimore Road · Rockville, Maryland 20851 Phone: (301) 762-7338 · Fax: (301) 424-4399 · Send us an email!
	Affiliated with The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which hosts this website as one of the many services provided to member congregations.