Danielle Ben-David’s Column May – June 2026

Hidden Helpers

As we move through the seasons of our Jewish year, I am often struck by how much happens beneath the surface of our communal life. A Shabbat service, a holiday celebration, a class, a gathering — each one may feel effortless when we arrive. Yet behind every meaningful moment is a network of people quietly helping to make it possible.

There are those who prepare spaces before others arrive and stay late after everyone has gone home. There are those who welcome new faces so no one feels alone. There are those who serve on committees, make phone calls, coordinate details, lend professional skills, offer generous support, and step in wherever they are needed — sometimes before they are even asked, and sometimes with a loving but honest, “Me again?” Much of this work happens quietly, but its impact is felt everywhere.

These “hidden helpers” are not separate from the community — they are what community looks like. They remind us that Beth El is strengthened not only by those on the bimah or in formal leadership roles, but by the many hands and hearts that show up with care, consistency, and generosity.

We are there for one another in moments of joy and in moments of sorrow, in times of celebration and in times of challenge. We support one another because that is what sacred community asks of us. It takes a village to sustain a congregation, and it takes a caring congregation to sustain each of us in return.

As we look toward the months ahead, I feel deep gratitude for all who already give so much of themselves, and hope that more of us will find a new way to take part. There is room for every kind of contribution: a new idea, an hour of time, a welcoming smile, a helping hand, a willingness to serve.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks.” In synagogue life, those tracks may be the tables set before a holiday meal, the child who feels welcomed in a classroom, the mourner who is comforted, the friendship that begins at Kiddush, the program that inspires, or the tradition carried forward because someone chose to help. The paths we create today become the pathways others will walk tomorrow.

May we continue building a community where no act of kindness is too small, no effort goes unnoticed, and no one carries the work alone.

Yachad itchem — together with you,

Danielle Ben-David