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community low-interest loans to help them through the shutdown. Another casualty is the now-cancelled JCC Maccabi Games, which had been planned for San Diego, Calif., and Pace University in Westchester, N.Y. in August. Birmingham and New Orleans typically send delegations every year. For all the JCCs, community safety and service to the broader community are the first priority. “We remain committed to being a community despite our physical distance and look forward to safely moving past this so that we can continue to serve our members’ needs soon,” Fischman said. “We remain confident in our ability to build the strongest possible Jewish Community Center, and aiding in our community’s resilience in the face of this pandemic,” Dubrinsky said. “We miss seeing our members more than we can put into words and we look forward to the day when we will be physically together again.”
Kol Dichfin: NOLA Jewish community launches Second Harvest fund at Passover While social distancing means Passover Seders are taking place without guests — or even without relatives not living under the same roof — there is still the part of the Seder that invites all who are hungry to come and eat. With that in mind, the Greater New Orleans Jewish Clergy Council has launched Kol Dichfin: Come and Eat Fund for Second Harvest Food Bank. In a letter to the community, the area’s rabbis and cantors said “the ancient Jewish custom of ma’ot chittin instructs us to support those in our community who are experiencing food insecurity, especially around Pesach when we are deeply connected with the experience of slavery,” and also with the added needs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The fund will collect donations from the community, with the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana serving as the collection point. All of the funds raised will be given directly to Second Harvest at the conclusion of Passover, on April 17. Every dollar will purchase four meals for the organization, which serves over 700 community partners and programs in 23 parishes. Also, the donation will be matched by Entergy Corporation as part of a monthlong Partner of Two matching program of up to $75,000. To donate online, go to the JEF website, select the JEF General Fund and indicate “Second Harvest, Power of Two” in the comments. Checks may also be sent to JEF, with Second Harvest on the memo line, and mailed to 314 Audubon Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70125. “As we weather the storm of COVID-19 together, carrying one another through the experiences of illness and isolation, we are grateful for the strength of our Jewish community and its ability to rise to meet every challenge, including this one,” the clergy stated.
Flip COVID to Kavod In response to COVID-19, Beth Israel in Metairie is promoting Kavod-19, the Hebrew term for honor and respect. With the idea that social distancing should not mean social isolation, the congregation is urging people to reach out to 19 people who are sheltered in place, and “make Kavod-19 a virus of love.” Phone or Facetime is preferred, but texts, emails and instant messages count. 18
April 2020 • Southern Jewish Life