I Almost Drank My Juice

Oddly for me I wasn’t nervous or dizzy when I walked through the sliding doors of Baycrest for my first day of volunteering this past Friday. I attribute this to the extremely and even overly friendly atmosphere of the volunteer office on the second floor. Janice Sternhill is the coordinator and she made the process of finding my placements within the hospital swift, fun and easy. I’m scheduled to volunteer every other Friday in the Oneg Shabbat programme and as a friendly visitor to the patients when the Shabbat programme is finished. I will also be volunteering my Friday mornings in the Jewish Culture and Heritage Museum on the first floor doing research and maintaining electronic and paper files.

After Cameron and I finished the final paperwork and were issued our I.D. badges Janice escorted us to the sixth floor where we met with Irina Iordanova the recreational therapist for the fifth floor. We followed her to the fifth floor where Cameron and I helped to transport the clients to the Shabbat service on the sixth floor. The participants varied in physical abilities from seemingly incapacitated to fully alert and active in participation. Some could eat and drink the bread and wine, others could not because of dietary restrictions or physical limitations. Whatever the case may be, as Irina pointed out, it is our duty to facilitate an environment that is enjoyable and welcoming to each participant. One very active participant was not even Jewish but I never would have known except for the fact that another volunteer pointed it out. The Shabbat service has led me to reflect on two things. First, the importance of recreation and programmes like Oneg Shabbat in supporting the health and sanctity of life for the clients. The idea that cognitively impaired individuals were present seems to support this. And to what extent I have yet to discover. Also, the individuals that could participate did so with enthusiasm I don’t frequently have in even my own weekly ritual activities. The second point of reflection was on my own mortality-but not with a depressive state of mind. Most of the clients appeared to be over the age of 70 and in one glance I thought of the blessing and privilege it would be to survive for that long. In fact I think I would be satisfied to live to be 80, but 102 is on the top of my wish list.

I also realized anew something about myself while sitting in the cafeteria after my session was over. I realized that if there is any way I can avoid harm or disrespect for individuals and institutions I will do it, in keeping with my personal values of course. According to the kosher rules of the cafeteria no one is allowed to eat food or drink in the cafeteria brought in from the outside (just in case their food isn’t Kosher). I almost drank the juice I brought from home forgetting for a moment that I wasn’t in an ordinary cafeteria. Even though I was really thirsty (and I was having some of the cafeteria pea soup that was really dehydrating) and I knew my juice was kosher I still opted out of disrespecting the rules of the institution. On the other hand I overheard a group of ladies doing just the opposite. To go even further with this example is the realization that religion in the public sphere is not easy. People have to deprive themselves of things in order to make other groups comfortable. While in my situation it didn’t hurt too much to go without fluids for a half hour, situations can certainly exist wherein the demands that religions place on the public may cause hostility.