One of the coolest parts about Purim in Jerusalem is seeing people in costumes around town. What I didn’t expect was to be that person at which other people shoot their short, amused glances. I remember giggling nervously when I saw Athena wearing earbuds and holding a Rav Kav (magnetic bus pass card) reflected back at me from the bus window. But as soon as I got to Beit Melabev, a Jerusalem based Memory Club/Day Center for seniors, the furtive glances turned into exclamations of delight as I entered the Moadon (club) at Melabev.
I have been volunteering at Melabev with seniors with mid-stage dementia. As a JTS rabbinical student, I not only help with the club members’ activities and meals, but I also lead a weekly discussion (in Hebrew!) on a section from Pirke Avot, a book in the mishna that contains rabbinic wisdom.
Volunteer Kayley Romick, a Jewish Theological Seminary rabbinic student spending the academic year in Jerusalem chose to spend her one free day each week during the spring semester volunteering at the Hebrew speaking Melabev Memory Club in Givat Masuah through Skilled Volunteers for Israel’s Young Professional track.