NEWCOMERS HELP FOUND WELLNESS CENTRE
By Luba Shafir

 “Love your neighbour as you love yourself”, such is the main tenet of Judaism.  But do we know what it really means to “love” and what it means to “love yourself”?  Jews were always characterized by “chesed” which means kindness.  But what does this mean in practice? 

Throughout my volunteering for various organizations in Toronto, I have asked these questions, and throughout my eleven years of work I came to the following conclusion:  all of us are in need of real love, of health, of having someone to be sincerely interested in our lives, of coming across a person who, in our time of need, will give us the required information and will connect us to the people who will help solve our problems. 

This is how the idea of founding this Centre was born.  The two main aspects of the Centre are informative and holistic.  The Centre of Jewish spiritual and physical growth is named ARIT, which is an abbreviation of the words standing for the four kinds of love found in Shir Hashirim.  A group of people came together who share this vision and who are united by an unquenchable enthusiasm and a sincere desire to make themselves and others happy.  Practically speaking, this Centre has been operating for a long time already, run by volunteers.  We have decided that the time has come to register the Centre officially and to run it on a more professional basis. 

The Centre will be a non-profit charitable organization, serving all Jews.  One component of our work is to provide information and contact with various organizations and individuals, depending on the needs of those who come to us for help.  Sometimes it is not enough to just provide a person with a contact and phone number; sometimes it is necessary to make the call or to accompany these people to their appointments, for reasons of linguistic or cultural barriers.  All this calls for a high level of competence, good will, and patience for the Centre staff. 

Health is very important as well.  Emotional health, physical health, mental health, must all be harmoniously balanced for optimal well-being.  When necessary, people should be referred to the right medical professionals; in many cases a speedy referral can save a person’s life.  Sometimes, alternative methods are called for and can be quite effective, but professionals are needed who can direct an individual – we hope to provide this service as well.  We also plan to organize lectures, seminars and workshops on holistic topics, as well as to generally promote a healthy way of life.  The Centre will have an already-existing “Good Mood Club”, which was started to create and sustain the physical and emotional well being of its members.  We also plan to create a Jewish retreat centre, as well as to carry out many other initiatives. 

Where do we get our knowledge?  We get it from the Torah, from the works of Rambam and from other Jewish sages, as well as from our personal experience, and our professional background.  We invite others, who share our philosophy, to support the work of the Centre. 

In conclusion, we would like to wish everyone to be healthy, happy and a hag kasher vesameakh! 

Luba Shafir, whose whole family came to Canada with the help of JIAS Canada, has been an active volunteer with a goal to help Jewish immigrants.