TSIYON NEWS

From Eliyahu

I'm hooked on service. This ministry has been serving since 1981, and I'm as excited about serving Messiah and His people today as I was in the beginning. I live in a community of service. We are all servants here, and we are all hooked on it. I could give you a long list of reasons why living a life of service is so much better than living a life focused on one's own gain. Since I can't accommodate a list of that size here I will share one big reason: the "flow-back effect" of Luke 6:38.

"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you." (Luke 6:38)

Do you see the power in that? This verse tells us that when we give of ourselves to serve others there is a "flow-back effect" whereby more blessings come back to us than what we gave through our service. This is one reason why people who live a life of service to others get hooked on the life of a servant. They not only are blessed in feeling good about helping others, but they receive many blessings themselves that they otherwise would not experience. I'm not talking about money here, so much as the real blessings of life, peace, joy, and fulfillment.

For examples of people like that I’m going to draw on the self-sacrifice and service that helped found and grow the modern State of Israel. Frankly, I don't know much about the politics or religious views of the people whose experiences I'm about to share. What I do know is that it took a lot of self-sacrifice of all sorts of people to bring the modern State of Israel into existence, and to grow from there. That story is full of men and women who gave of themselves - often under pressure, often with little recognition - and then discovered something surprising: when you pour out your life for others, life pours back into you.

Henrietta Szold: Thousands of people escorted Henrietta Szold to her final resting place on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on February 14, 1945. Henrietta had been born in Baltimore in 1860. Henrietta had never married or raised a family, yet she is remembered as mother of the Yishuv (that is, the Jewish community in Palestine prior to 1948). 

She had dreamed of a Jewish homeland in Israel all her life.  Although she did not live to see the State of Israel officially established just three years after her death, during her life she had a lot to do with building it. She lived as a servant to others and encouraged others to do the same. Here is a list of some of the things she did:

1. Founder of Hadassah: Szold was instrumental in the founding of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, which became the largest and most powerful Zionist group in the United States.

2. Zionist Organizer: Szold was a key figure in Zionist organizing, contributing to the Yishuv's infrastructure and Israel's modern medical services.

3. Education and Scholarship: Szold was highly educated in Jewish studies and edited significant works of Jewish history.

4. Social and Communal Work: She was involved in social and communal work, helping to create the medical, educational, and social service infrastructure that helped turn the dream of a Jewish state into a workable reality.

5. Youth Aliyah: Szold spearheaded Youth Aliyah, helping Jewish children escape Nazi Germany for Palestine.

6. Holocaust Rescue: Her work in rescuing children from the Holocaust and rehabilitating them earned her the title “mother of the Yishuv.”

7.  Henrietta Szold's contributions to Jewish history and her leadership in Zionist activities have left a lasting impact on the Jewish community, on Israel, and on the broader world.

Henrietta Szold is quoted as saying: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."