Veterans

Volunteering after retirement can be a more than full-time job – with rich rewards

ZVI ROSNER, 69 FROM FLUSHING, NEW YORK, TO JERUSALEM, 1984

When Zvi Rosner retired from his job in the spring of 2015, he heard that some friends were nearing the end of their volunteer assignment in the north and looking for a married couple to take over from them. Rosner could have chosen to go off and play golf in Caesarea or opt for other leisurely pursuits. Instead, he and his wife, Chaya, immediately showed interest in assuming a similar role to that of their friends.

They agreed to leave their spacious home in Jerusalem to live at the Yemin Orde youth village atop Mount Carmel and nurture its young residents by functioning in a grandparent capacity. Now, two and a half years later, Rosner explains their response quite simply, “We are here for a purpose. Everyone has a mission. If there are people in need, why not come and help?”

The student population at the village comprises 436 ninth to 12th graders, about a third of Ethiopian background, a third from the former Soviet Union and a third of French origin. Most are disadvantaged from deprived backgrounds, often raised by single parents or in dysfunctional families. Many were referred to Yemin Orde by social services or by the courts. Nevertheless, the majority are able to return home on free weekends and during vacations, obtain an adequate education and enjoy a variety of enrichment activities. There is also a special three-year program for young Brazilians interested in continuing their regular studies that exposes them to Israeli life and often results in their immigration.

For Zvi and Chaya, one highlight of their work is the weekly birthday party that they organize for a trio of children at local restaurants. Aside from the feasting and merrymaking, “we have a session with them first,” Zvi explains, “when we discuss their aims and purpose in life. Because our status is that of volunteers outside the establishment, they are more open with us.”

He also has an ongoing involvement in preparing older students for the conversion courts, “helping kids who want to become Jews get approval for conversion.”

Another task for the Rosners involves regularly scheduled hours staffing the well-equipped library and tutoring students who need help with homework or just need someone to talk to. Small groups of youngsters also join the couple frequently for Shabbat meals, with larger groups of up to 30 dropping in for kiddush and snacks on Shabbat morning.

“We have regular conversations with them. They all need love and attention,” he says.

A veteran educator, Rosner spent 30 years as an inspector of Israeli schools, specializing in the subject of Jewish culture. His role was to help develop a program that would be implemented by 250 National Service women for teaching Judaism in nonreligious schools. The women’s weekly class explored themes involving Jewish identity by using drama, puppet theaters and audiovisual presentations, as well as various games and activities. The program, which originated with four centers, grew to 63 centers.

Rosner grew up in Brooklyn, attending Jewish schools that placed great emphasis on Israel. He then attended Yeshiva University, majoring in premed and obtaining degrees in biology and Jewish education, and completed a master’s degree in secondary education. He also studied for rabbinic ordination with Rabbi Peretz Steinberg and other rabbis while teaching in various high schools. Following that, he studied for a doctorate in education at New York University, and from 1978 to 1984 served as principal of the HAFTR Hebrew Academy Middle School in Lawrence, NY.

Zvi met Chaya when she taught in a Jewish school in Queens for a year, and they always spoke Hebrew together. Chaya’s parents survived World War II in Siberia. She was born in Germany. The family came to Israel in 1949, and Chaya grew up in Hadera.

After the Rosners made aliya with their four children, three girls and a boy, in 1984, they stayed at the absorption center in Mevaseret Zion for eight months. Their youngest child was only two months old, while their oldest was eight.

“It was a thrilling time,” Rosner says of that period. “The Ethiopians were arriving on Mivtza Moshe [Operation Moses]. I recall feeling that the geula [redemption] is beginning right before our eyes – first Americans, Russians, French and now our brothers from Africa...”

Their house in Givat Ze’ev in the greater municipal area of Jerusalem was just the third to be erected in that particular neighborhood. As no synagogue existed, the Rosners started one in their home. When a building was erected 10 years later, Zvi became their volunteer rabbi. Chaya worked for many years with new immigrants as the head of the Tehila office in Jerusalem, an organization that preceded Nefesh b’Nefesh.

Now that their term as volunteers is nearing completion, Rosner plans to learn Torah, play piano and write music during his retirement in Jerusalem, while Chaya will develop her hobbies of embroidery and painting. Not surprisingly, they conclude by saying, “We will also volunteer.” They are deeply thankful that their offspring are all religious, live in Israel and are happily married with children of their own.

Recently, when the Rosners were honored with a farewell party in the Yemin Orde library, an overflow crowd attended. Most moving of all for Chaya was the fact that some of the most vulnerable children came to say goodbye. Tears came to her eyes when one of them said, “Saba and Savta, you changed our lives.” ■