Love for Israel Knows No Age

Dr. Norman Weiss, an 88-year-old from Scarsdale, NY, who recently participated in a Jewish National Fund-USA volunteer mission to Israel, doesn’t fit the usual participant profile, but his extraordinary work and dedication speak for themselves.

“Honestly, my age was a question,” Norman said, “because the trip’s volunteering activities demand hours of physical labor.”

Jewish National Fund-USA’s missions are not for the faint of heart. Participants are advised to be prepared for long days and manual labor. But the spry octogenarian was not to be deterred. His decision to join the volunteer mission stemmed from a heartfelt desire to make a tangible difference in the lives of Israelis affected by October 7. He and his daughter, Jackie Weiss, eagerly embraced the opportunity to contribute their time and efforts to the cause, a real life example of dor l’dor— from generation to generation.

The missions are dynamic, with at least six hours a day spent volunteering. Volunteers do agricultural work, picking produce that would otherwise rot in the fields. On Norman’s trip, their work also included cleaning and painting a schoolhouse in a kibbutz that had been evacuated and whose 600 children would soon return to a semblance of normal kibbutz life.

“The opportunity to do something for others,” Norman reflected, “was a very powerful motivator for me going on the trip —apart from being a Zionist. The idea that, despite my age, I could be more than a passive onlooker in the world.”

In the Druze village of Julis in northern Israel, volunteers cooked over 150 pounds of chicken on small charcoal grills for hungry IDF soldiers stationed in the north.

“Someone suggested to Jackie that perhaps because of my age I would be happy putting labels on boxes,” Norman recalls. “She made it immediately clear that my choice was to cook.”

Throughout the trip, Norman served as a testament to the power of determination and resilience. He relished the opportunity to give of himself, inspiring his fellow participants.

“The giver receives more than the receiver. Tzedakah, charity, provides the giver with a good feeling that lasts a lifetime.” Norman has a longstanding involvement with Jewish National Fund-USA. He and his wife, Bonnie, have played a pivotal role in initiatives that have enriched the country.

Time and again, punctuated by this mission trip, Norman has demonstrated his love for Israel.

“The rabbinic dictum that ‘all of Israel (the Jewish People) are responsible for one another,’ has become more personal to me since my recent trip. To be able to do something for Israel and the Jewish People at a very sad time was a gift to me and all of the volunteers who were there. These four days will live in my memory forever. I’m going to do my best to spread the word to everyone I know—even if they’re 88 years old.”

Volunteer missions are continuing through December, 2024. To learn more or register, visit jnf.org/volunteeril