Chesed & Dignity

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Interviewing Mr. Shimi Pelman of Tomchei Shabbos Queens

‘Love your brother as you love yourself’ is a cornerstone of Judaism. It is therefore important for us to be aware that many of our community members struggle daily to obtain even the basics. What the average person takes for granted, they consider a luxury. Thankfully, many in our community see the need to work together and ensure that in today’s day and age, shame remain no barrier to life’s basic necessities. The Queens Jewish community is famous for many things, and Community Chesed (acts of charity and kindness) is one of them. There are so many opportunities to partake every day, with our money and with our time. Chesed towards the elderly, Chesed towards the needy…all with an open heart and a focus on preserving dignity. It is therefore our great pleasure to interview Mr. Shimi Pehlman of Tomchei Shabbos of Queens.

BJL: Please introduce yourself to our readers.

S.P: My name is Shimon (Simon) Pelman and I am the President of Tomchei Shabbos Queens (though most of the work happens through the Katz Family and not me). Tomchei Shabbos is the Chesed version of Amazon, but more personal. We package and deliver food and goods to the doorsteps (and sometimes further) of the needy. I help with the fundraising and government grants and many other things as well. The organization also uses my facility in downtown Flushing for most of our Pesach Holiday deliveries, and we’ve been doing that since we opened this building in 1996/ 1997. We have 325-350 deliveries prepared for most shabbosim and on Pesach we have around 450. Some of the food is picked-up, but most of it is delivered by our volunteers.

We try to be as anonymous as possible so as not to embarrass the recipients. How do you qualify to be a recipient? We turn down as few requests as possible, but we do due diligence nonetheless.

One time during an emergency I was asked to do a delivery. As I was making my stop I realized that the family knew me. I put down the food, rang the bell, and ran. I did not want to embarrass the couple. Dignity is our protocol.

Even so, we try to be a needs-based organization, and don’t restrict ourselves. We won’t necessarily just drop the box and leave. Our volunteers often help recipients who cannot lift heavier items by placing the food into the fridge. And sometimes we go in and recognize that our drop offs are the only chance some elderly recipients have at socializing for the whole week, so we make conversation and leave them in a happy mood. Charity and Chesed can be more than just giving of one’s money, though that’s obviously important, too.

We’ve had volunteers provide holiday needs like Esrogim and Lulavim, Chanukkah candles, or help for Pesach preparations. Those who are interested in developing a relationship with our beneficiaries therefore have an opportunity to do so in multiple ways.

BJL: Who do you help support?

S.P: We support community widows, orphans, the elderly, or anyone else who can benefit from our service. In certain cases, when we know the beneficiary cannot prepare their own food, we arrange for the food to be cooked for Shabbos, and then we deliver it ready to eat.

We also have a sister organization under Tomchei Shabbos, Yad Mina, which provides backpacks for children, suits, coats etc. Here we are also often given discrete tips from schools about children who can benefit from the items we distribute. We also have a little ‘store’ on the top of the Tomchei Shabbos warehouse, where people can come and choose from our selection of goods without feeling like people in need. I stress again that we look to provide Chesed without compromising the dignity of our beneficiaries.

BJL: What does the Chesed landscape look like today and why is your organization especially equipped to deal with it?

S.P: Today, around half of our beneficiaries are in the Rego Park, Forest Hills and Kew Garden Hills area. In Downtown Flushing, we have mostly elderly folk.

We are a volunteer organization through and through with no overhead. Our building was donated by a group of us and paid in full, meaning no mortgage to worry about. We fight the real estate taxes constantly, especially with the help of Borough President Melinda Katz. We also benefit from funds given to us by the Jewish Caucus of City Council. We get help from many of the Jewish Statesmen including Melinda Katz, Councilmembers Rory Lancman and Barry Grodenchik, and Assemblymen Daniel Rosenthal and David Weprin. Notably, much of the funding we get is from the population we serve.

Maybe that’s because we make a point of using all the money we get for the needs of the community. Years ago, we had an audit from the State Comptroller, after which he wrote us a letter marveling in the fact that he’d never seen an organization like ours, where over 98% of all the money we received is used to buy food. We don’t have any administrative expenses.

BJL: What do the operations look like with an all-volunteer taskforce?

It’s an amazing function, an amazing sight to see. On any given Wednesday night, come by and see who shows up to help with the weekly packaging. Doctors, lawyers, surgeons, you name it. Even people from outside of the community come to do Chesed. We have a lot of volunteer drivers from Great Neck; the Mashadi Persian community, and the Young Israel of Great Neck.

At the end of the day, we are only limited by the funds we have. The more we have, the more we do. And as I mentioned above, we have no administrative costs; everything goes to helping the community.

BJL: Do you have a specific message for our readers?

The Bukharian community of Queens is growing leaps and bounds; they are around 70,000 strong! Part of growth is assuming responsibility for the broader needs of the Jewish Community. They just got involved with Hatzolah; Tomchei Shabbos can similarly benefit from their aid. Remember, a vast amount of our beneficiaries are Bukharian, and they would greatly benefit from volunteers who speak their language and understand their culture. We can then know how to do more for the Bukharian community in a way that protects the older generation as well.

The Bukharian community is now involved in other organizational work with great groups like Chazaq and the Alliance of Bukharian Americans. But we need to work on charity organizations, too, as they benefit all sectors of the Queens Jewish Community. The Beautiful and new Beth Gavriel Mikvah is in Forest Hills, the Mikvah my family supported is in Hillcrest; these are exciting projects realized in predominantly Bukharian communities. As we continue to grow as a nation together, we must all be involved in each other’s welfare. This is crucial for ensuring the continuity of Jewish Orthodoxy. Dear readers, please consider sharing your Wednesday afternoons for packaging and Thursday’s for helping us deliver the goods. Please also consider financially contributing to this great cause so that we can continue to provide for all those in need. You can view our delivery schedules and contact us at TSQINC.org, or call us at Tel: (718) 850-8070.