Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre 'adopts' family seeking refuge from Ukraine

Tsipporah Lowenstein is a 3-year-old with a big family — an aunt, uncle, and nine cousins. All of them endured a 50-hour trip from the Ukraine to New York City by way of Romania, Turkey and Florida just last week.

And they have just one clothes-filled suitcase between all of them.

Cheryl Karp would have none of it. The early childhood director at the Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre nursery school where Tsipporah has found her own refuge among peers, Karp knew she needed to spring into action.

“They were turned away at several borders, but managed to get out of the country,” Karp said. “They basically just had the clothing on their backs. No shirts. No diapers. Nothing.”

Tsipporah’s not even the youngest of the bunch. That honor instead goes to her 10-month-old twin cousins, while the oldest boy between Tsipporah’s aunt and uncle is 15.

They fled Ukraine as Russian troops marched in. Another cousin attending boarding school escaped Ukraine with his entire class, finding their way to Germany.

They hid in a basement until they decided it was time to leave the country. Although they encountered many challenges at various borders, they found a way out, finally landing in Florida on March 9.

When Karp watched the news and saw carriages in Poland awaiting Ukrainian refugees, she got emotional. When she learned that a family close to the synagogue was also reeling from the issues overseas, she was emboldened to rally those around her to help. This was nothing new, of course. HERJC frequently undertakes initiatives to help those in need, Karp said, known as tzedukah projects, following a mantra that all Jewish people are commanded to do good things for others.

Quickly, dozens of donations started pouring in, raising more than $5,000 in its first week, mostly through Amazon gift cards that could be used to purchase toiletries and other necessities for the family on the retail company’s website.

“It’s just so beautiful to be able to help a family in need,” Karp said, “The children were very excited to know that they were doing something to help other children just like them.

“We tell our kids that not everyone is as lucky as they are. Not everyone has a lot of choices and clothes, and the money that we collect goes to help those children who aren’t as lucky.”

Other tzedukah projects the temple has overseen include clothing cancer patients and collecting items for those experiencing homelessness.

“We exist as a holy congregation as long as we keep tuned into the necessities of the community,” Senior Rabbi Michel Schelsinger said. “This is the reason we have decided to engage in this vital project and help a displaced Ukrainian family.”

Seeing people open their wallets was especially meaningful for Karp, especially in a world with rising gas prices, inflation, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

And the temple is still collecting donations. Once Tsipporah’s family has everything they need, Karp wants to get supplies to others still in Ukraine, or who have sought refuge elsewhere.

“It’s something that I always believe in and it just makes me feel so proud to be a part of a temple family that cares so much about others,” Karp said. “There is a lot more going on in the world that needs to be addressed, but it makes me very proud.”