Scapegoats through the ages and the Purim parallel

The concept of Tikkun Olam, Hebrew for "repairing the world", is an important mission. To prevent or resolve  social chaos wherever and whenever it presents itself should be the goal of all people, regardless of ethnicity or religion. In a piece for the Huffington Post Canada's religion blog, Toronto-raised Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troste, director of North American programs for Rabbis for Human Rights North America, traces the practice back to the time of Esther and the story of Purim.

Tzedakah through life saving missions

When communities around the world are hurting, Israel, Canada and the Canadian Jewish community are among those first to respond with organized aid missions.

Over the last 26 years, IDF (Israeli Defense Force) aid missions have sent 15 delegations to countries afflicted by various natural disasters. As you can see from the video below, IDF doctors in field hospitals dispense medical care to more than 2,300 people in affected areas, 220 of whom were saved from certain death according to the IDF.






Many of these missions have been tracked by our reporters of The Canadian Jewish News, who shine a light on the tikkun olam work performed by the IDF and Jewish individuals around the world.

For more, see the following recent related stories on cjnews.com:

UWO students captain Mitzvah missions

and

Female Jewish firefighter lives her dream

It's a beautiful thing when the community gives back

After writing a story, specifically covering charitable events, it's always a bit humbling when someone tells the reporter that as a result of their article many people contributed to a charity that will help others.

Usually, in the course of reporting, one doesn't think about the long-term impact of a specific story. It's all about getting the facts, presenting them to the reader in as unbiased a way as possible, and then moving on to the next assignment.

But occasionally, a reporter pauses in his or her tracks when confronted with how their story added some tikkun olam to society.

Last week, I had the honour of being invited to attend the Canadian Friends of Meir Medical Center's annual awards gala in Toronto. After writing an advance story on how this Israeli hospital is in need of funds to complete a children's wing, the organizers of the event contacted me to thank me for the story and tell me that it had led directly to an influx of donations from Canadian donors and philanthropists.

This was terrific news.

But there was another element to this story in The CJN.

The gala organizers also were honouring the Florence family of Toronto with a humanitarian award. Why? Because Dana and Jared Florence have been blessed with miraculous triplets, all of whom have Cerebral Palsy.

Since just after their birth, the Florence children, diagnosed with the impairment to their motor functions, have undergone various surgeries, therapies and protocols to help them progress physically as much as possible. And despite being told not to expect too much by doctors, the Florences have never given up on their children. Quite the opposite. They decided to wage war on CP in the form of their foundation "ThreeToBe".

Having had the pleasure of interviewing Dana and Jared and listening to their story, and having been told by the Canadian Friends of Meir Medical Center executive that my story had brought much-needed funding to their cause as well, I was reminded that one can and does make a difference through their work.

Here's a small video from ThreeToBe's website that tells you all you need to know.

-Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf