On a sultry summer morning, I park my car in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood and arrive at a previously designated spot to meet the driver of a white van, who cheerfully welcomes me to join him on his daily rounds.
Forty-two-year-old Shaya has curly payot [sidelocks], a pleasant mien, and drives a delivery van for Colel Chabad, bringing food packages throughout Jerusalem to elderly residents of the city, from Sunday through Thursday.
He has been delivering packages for Colel Chabad in Jerusalem for 12 years, and he knows his route by heart. He doesn’t need Waze, nor does he refer to a printed list as he expertly wends his way through the winding Jerusalem streets en route to his stops.
When Shaya reaches the dwelling of a recipient, he parks, gets out of the van, opens the cargo area, and pulls out a package with the name and address of the client. A variety of cooked, ready-to-heat foods are in each parcel, which includes soup, gefilte fish, chicken, and side dishes.
When he arrives at each stop on his route, he brings the package to the door, rings the bell, and hands it to the recipient with a smile. In many cases, a grandchild or caregiver receives the package on behalf of the recipient.
Today is a relatively slow day because Shaya has “only” 99 deliveries to make. There are many times when he makes as many as 120 or 130 deliveries in a single day. He leaves his home at 4 a.m. each day, arriving at the location where the food is prepared, and begins his route at 4:30, often not concluding his deliveries until 11 a.m. Smiling, he says that when he started working for Colel Chabad, he was much heavier. The numerous stops along his daily route and his speedy delivery pace have contributed significantly to his trim appearance.
Every evening, a staff of four to five workers prepares the food, which Shaya picks up early the next morning. He drives a different route each day, stopping in Pisgat Ze’ev, Neveh Ya’acov, and Ammunition Hill on Sundays; Rehavia, the city center, and Kiryat Moshe on Mondays; Katamon and Ramot on Tuesdays; Bayit Vagan, Armon Hanatziv, Har Homa, and Gilo on Wednesdays; and Kiryat Hayovel on Thursdays. The preparation and delivery of food is done by Colel Chabad personnel throughout Israel.
The Hebrew name of Colel Chabad’s meals-on-wheels project, which it operates throughout the country in conjunction with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, is b’chavod u’viyedidut, which means “in dignity and in friendship.” The program provides food for thousands of elderly Israeli citizens every week.
My tour with Shaya indicated that the program’s name is an accurate reflection of what is being done. The recipients, who are selected from a list supplied by the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry, receive a delivery of seven food items every week and can choose from a list of different foods. The boxes themselves are unmarked, lending a greater measure of dignity for the recipients.
Says Zalman Duchman, executive director of Colel Chabad, “Dignity and respect are primary principles of Colel Chabad. It’s our great privilege to help them because they are our brothers and sisters.”
Approximately 1.2 million citizens aged 65 and over live in Israel today, comprising 12% of the nation’s population. Many older adults in Israel do not have enough to eat. And according to Duchman, more than 16,000 older adults are chronically lonely and have little to no contact with other people. Research has shown that there is a 50% increase in the risk of dementia due to social isolation in old age, and a 68% increase in the risk of hospitalization among older men and women who experience loneliness. In addition, data show that about 33% of men and women aged 75 and over report experiencing loneliness, which not only affects their overall well-being but also increases their risk of illness and has significant economic consequences.
Shaya and the other workers who bring food each day perform a service that is much more than just delivering food. They are keeping in touch with the elderly, speaking to them, and inquiring about their welfare.
Sometimes, Shaya says, the recipients of his deliveries invite him in for a visit. Shaya recalls his weekly visits with an elderly gentleman that began when he first started working on the Jerusalem route.
“He lived alone,” Shaya recalls, “and his children had no time to visit him because they were always busy. He would show me pictures from his younger days, and he enjoyed speaking Yiddish with me. Once, one of his sons was there, and I thought that I should leave, but he said, ‘I want my son to hear how I speak to you in Yiddish.’”
The week before the man died, Shaya brought him his regular delivery, and he said that he didn’t need any food that week. The following week, Shaya brought him his food again, and that afternoon he died at the age of 96.
“I experienced a feeling of real loss,” says Shaya. “For 12 years, once a week, we spoke.”
Shaya says that the Passover season is a particularly meaningful time for food deliveries because the recipients are very excited to receive one kilo of matzah as part of their Passover food deliveries.
Duchman notes that it is essential to understand that these people are not faceless individuals without any identity. “The recipient is someone’s parent or someone’s aunt or uncle or sibling. It’s the anonymous person whom you see in the back of the synagogue. Many have children but still need Colel Chabad meals.”
ELDERLY PEOPLE require food deliveries for three reasons, says Duchman. Some are poor and don’t have the financial means to get enough food. Others have sufficient funds to purchase food but are unable to go out and shop for themselves. Still others are simply lonely and need someone to visit them, often in the context of a food delivery.
Most of the recipients of food from Colel Chabad, says Duchman, live alone, are on a fixed income, can cook for themselves, and usually have a medical condition of some sort. Since they are on fixed incomes, they don’t have a great deal of discretionary funds. “The program is benefiting people who are elderly but don’t usually want to cook for themselves. When we deliver a meal, we know at least they’re having one hot meal.
“It’s more than a support to help those who are in poverty. It’s providing them with real food for them to eat.” Duchman points out that many of the recipients were successful in life but live alone now and have no one to care for them. “We care for them,” he says.
Colel Chabad is continuing its meals-on-wheels program and plans to expand it to include Friday morning visits to the elderly in conjunction with the Chabad on Campus project in Israel.
“There are many lonely elderly people,” concludes Duchman, “and everyone can help alleviate their loneliness.
“If you have an elderly neighbor who lives alone and you knock on their door once a week, you’re taking them out of that category. All you have to say is ‘Hi, how are you? Is everything okay? Can I get you a container of milk? Is there something I can do for you? Is your air conditioner working properly?’
“Just that human contact – that’s all they need.”
This article was written in cooperation with Colel Chabad.