Rav A. L. Scheinbaum shared a story about someone who took the initiative to do something when he saw a need, and not just to feel bad about it. He writes that the person involved in this story has outstanding humility, and did not permit his name or the city he currently lived in to be mentioned.
In 1991, a man from New York who looked for opportunities to do Chesed and had a heart of gold, single-handedly established a Chesed organization, which goes by the name of She’aris HaPlate, or Edible Leftovers, Inc.
Attending a wedding, he noticed the caterers packing up the food after the Chupah. Being inquisitive by nature, he asked, “What are you doing with all of that food?”
The caterer replied, “Why? Do you want it?”
It was five words, and that was all. But it was those five words, however, that motivated this man to establish a unique food Gemach. He took the food home, where he repackaged it, and discreetly dropped it off at the homes of people that he knew were in need of food.
Soon, he had set up an entire network of volunteers. They would accumulate the food from Simchah halls throughout the New York area, and then, often elegantly, would repackage the food to give to those whose families that could use it. Sometimes they would deliver it to those who were making a Simchah, but could not afford all of the food. The leftovers from a Simchah could supply about thirty families with a beautiful meal.
This man shared a letter that the organization received from a Chassan who was an orphan, and who was the beneficiary of a lavish Kiddush from this wonderful Gemach. He wrote, “I did not have to feel like an orphan at my own Aufruf. I was able to have a Kiddush, a reception fit for a prince, just like my friends’ parents make for them!”
A short while ago, a mother who was distraught called the Gemach. She had a large family which consisted of seventy-five people, and that upcoming Shabbos was her son’s Bar Mitzvah. However, she had no way to provide the food for the Simchah, because she simply had no money. She asked if there was any way the Gemach could help.
The Gemach came through. They provided the woman with delicious meals, as well as flower arrangements collected from a wedding hall the previous night. Edible Leftovers Inc. collects food and flowers from approximately three hundred Simchos each year.
In addition, they collect the food after Pesach from New York area hotels and five hotels in Florida. The inspiration of one man, together with the dedication of many volunteers, brings this all together. It is the result of a few people going beyond talking about something and feeling bad about something, and actually getting up and doing something to help a situation!
Reprinted from the Parshas Ki Sisa 5785 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’Tefilah.
