The Shloime Dachs Official Website

Singing In The Rain
By DAVID MANDEL - Chief Executive Officer
OHEL Children's Home & Family Services
The Jewish Press Magazine
Friday, December 6, 2002

There are many individuals whose chesed within our community is bountiful, much of it done b'tzenius, quietly and without fanfare. One such group of people are the singers and musicians who spend time with children with disabilities or children with cancer.
Certainly, all of us believe in the concept of chesed. We fulfill this mitzva in various ways, many of us by giving -tzedakah.
A number of people volunteer their time in hospitals and nursing homes through neighborhood Bikur Cholim chapters. Many women cook a Shabbos meal for a family in need in their neighborhood when preparing Shabbos meals for their own family; others may open their homes to strangers who need a place to stay when visiting relatives in a hospital. OHEL has one such special volunteer from its group of 700 volunteers, Mrs. Vilma Mayer, a spry young woman in her late 70s who volunteers at OHEL four days a week, five hours a day, cheerfully lending a hand and simultaneously fulfilling her inner desire of helping others.
Many of us have had the pleasure of listening to the beautiful music of Shloime Dachs, Mendy Wald, Yisrael Wulliger, Avraham Fried, Mordechai Ben David and other prominent performers. We've enjoyed their music at weddings, concerts, or on tapes. Their faces appear often on these pages, advertising a new release or promoting a concert. We tend to view them in one dimension, as performers.
There is another side that many in our community don't see, and that is the time they devote to visiting with children in hospitals, or the time they spend entertaining people with disabilities. Sure, you can ask, why not? Most of their work is in the evenings, so they have plenty of time on their hands. But the fact is that most of us don't use our free time to be mevaker cholim (visit the sick).
Shloime Dachs and his wife Libby, with their special "aidelkeit," regularly open their home to people with disabilities. What a special treat it is for several men who live in a nearby Bais Ezra residence on E. 27th Street and Avenue N, or E 31st Street and Avenue M, to walk over to Shloime and Libby on a Thursday evening for pizza and ice cream! At many OHEL functions, we have seen how Shloime shares his microphone and his spotlight with people with disabilities who feel very special to be singing with Shloime.
Shloime recently told me a story of a man bedridden with cancer r"l, who couldn't attend his son's wed-ding. Shloime and others went to his bedside and reenacted a chupah, singing and dancing around this man's bed. Tears were flowing like raindrops from the family, friends and hospital staff who were there. What a special feeling for this man, who will hopefully have a refuahb'karov. What a kiddush Hashem in front of the hospital staff!
This Succos, at a Simchat Bais Hashoeva at OHEL's residences for adult men with mental illness in Boro Park, Mendy Wald livened up the evening, accompanied by Dovi Dessler on keyboard. Music is a universal pick-me-up. It is a medium through which people who suffer from depression and who may be feeling isolated will dance in a group. Neighbors who may be reluctant to spend time with people with mental illness joined in the singing and dancing and through the mu-sic, learned a little more about mental illness.
Children who are hospitalized with life-threatening illnesses get a much needed break from the daily rigors of medicine, and their faces shine with happiness when one of these Jewish stars appears in their room.
Yaakov Schweki and Mendy Wald performed for 80 children with disabilities, brightening their faces at a Bais Ezra camp this past summer. Singing, dancing and being so happy for an hour are zechusim collected by these performers who could just as easily be busily involved with many other activities yet, choose to do this. Chanukah or Purim, on a Sunday morning or a week-night, you can find these distinguished performers at a bedside or with a person with disabilities, brightening their day.
Gershi Moskowitz is a young man who volunteers his time to arrange these visits by performers and musicians. I asked him why he does this, when he refuses to take any remuneration. He said he likes to collect mitzvos. Indeed he is collecting mitzvos!
David Mandel may be reached at the Email ad-dress: DM@ohelfamily.org.

Editor's Note: There is a new chesed organization that provides free musical entertainment to sick adults and children in the hospital and at home. Visit their web site at www.chesednet.com/SimchasHanefesh.htm