Painting Better Together

“Today’s No could be tomorrow’s Yes.”

            Today we went to work on a Habitat for Humanity build sight for the first time. Some of us painted rooms and others put up siding. For dinner and a tour we visited Congregation Tifereth Israel.  Cantor Chomsky said something that I really loved, “Today’s no could be tomorrow’s yes.” What he meant is the injustices of now can be changed in the future with our efforts. He also told us that in the future, if we are ever feeling lonely or discouraged, we can think about the family we helped and we won’t feel so bad anymore. Today was hard work but it went fast and it felt good. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with my fellow volunteers, meet new and amazing people, and have the experience I am having. I mean, it’s spring break and we rounded up seven intelligent, hard-working, driven people to WORK THEIR BUTTS OFF during a BREAK!!!! There are selfless people at the build sight who are also giving up their time to be an angel in someone’s life, and there are people who opened up their homes, and hearts to us. So far, it has been three days of good vibes and good spirits and I don’t see that changing. We’ve cracked a lot of smiles, rolled a lot of paint, learned a lot from good people, and I think we’ve all felt a moment where we have realized that there is still good in the world.

----Asha

Today was the first time I’d ever been ona building site, for Habitat or any other thing. I knew before hand that we would be helping someone, but I didn’t anticipate the responsibility I would feel. We were painting walls—a task that is much harder than it sounds—and I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that this wasn’t just a house…this was a home, or it would be. Someday soon people would live there, and they would look at these walls, and I would want someone to love those walls. I couldn’t help but think of my own home, and the memories we had there, and how different my childhood would have been if I’d lived in any other place. That’s not to say my family isn’t infinitely more important than where we were, but when I picture my childhood in my mind I see my home, and I think it’s beautiful. I hope whoever lives their thinks their home is beautiful, too.

In the evening we went to Congregation Tifereth Israel (a bit earlier than expected). As expected, Cantor Chompsky didn’t need much encouragement to talk, but he seemed very anxious to share his faith with us. He showed us the Torah and many other things. The thing he said that stuck with me most was the way he differentiated social action from social justice. Social action is when someone helps a homeless person, gives them food, or shelter, and these things are very important, but they are a temporary fix to a long term need. Social justice is “changing the game so the poor are no longer poor” and things that solve the problem in the long run. I’ve never heard it put so eloquently, and I wish I could quote him directly more perfectly.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what new feelings come to me and the others.

~Madeline Steele Stockwell