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H I N D A I N S T I T U T E
Rabbi Binyomin Scheiman, spiritual advisor 9401 N. Margail, Des
Plaines, IL. 60016 📞 (847) 334-1770 📥 fax (847) 296-1823 🔿
[email protected] 🌎 www.hindahelps.com
Spring 2019 / 5779
ב"ה
Because of people like you...NO ONE IS PASSED OVER.
This year the Hinda delivered Food for Pesach to over 140 people
in over 23 correctional institutions across Illinois. Additionally,
we delivered Matzot to many of our clients who are re-entering our
communities and celebrating the holidays — sometimes for the first
time.
The ability to celebrate the Jewish holidays brings tremendous
hope and joy to our clients. We want to thank our supporters for
their continual unfailing generosity and human kindness over the
years; you make sure that nobody is forgotten or passed over.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO: The Maot Chitim committee of Greater
Chicago for Kosher Lepesach food items
The Aleph Institute for Seder plates
The Ark for Salamis
The Grinker family for Shmurah Matzah
Larry and Anita Miller for the cargo van rental and gas
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Passover Highlightsand Credits
A Final Gift to a HINDA
Client
The Difference Education Can Make
News & Schmooze - Mazel Tovs and More!
How Hinda Saved Passover
23 CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS
OVER
140 PEOPLE
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Hot Shot Delivery owner Steve Lurie for the delivery of 2000
meals
Abe’s Smoked Fish — our new distributor for frozen dinners
Shtark Kosher Cheese, with the assistance of Rabbi Levi Lando,
for donating cheese, as Cook County no longer permits fish products
due to allergies
We also want to thank all our volunteers and donors for their
time and generosity!
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped our chaplains read
megillah: Mr. Yakov Weingrow, Rabbi Mark Weiner, Rabbi Shalom Ber
Raices, Rabbi Chaim Telsner, Mr. Pesach Perelman and Rabbi Eli
Langsam. Purim was celebrated in 7 jails!
Thank you to Yitzchak, Simcha and Dovid for packing food
supplies. Thank you Dovid Rabinowitz for helping to deliver food to
prisons over the week.
SAVING SOULSSUPPORTING OUR CLIENTS FOR LIFE AND THEN BEYOND
When Masha (fictitious name) passed away this year, there were
no funds or family to organize her burial.
Masha had battled an addiction to alcohol her whole life. At one
point, Masha became incarcerated for about a year related to her
addiction. Eventually her two boys were taken from her and brought
to foster homes, where Masha lost touch with them.
Despite these losses, Masha fought her demons with great
strength to regain self-respect. She finally got control of her
addiction while in tre-mendous pain from illness. She was never
incarcerated again.
Bubbie Masha will be remembered for her generous and kind nature
and continual uproarious sense of
humor, despite being in a wheelchair and in pain.
Masha never forgot her compa-triots in the correctional
institute and would send them money or deli sandwiches. As much as
possible, Masha tried to stay connected to her heritage.
Masha had been a client of the Hinda Institute for over 20 years
and was always happy to receive our weekly phone calls, visits and
holiday packages.
Masha fought for dignity in life and deserved to die with Jewish
dignity.
While she had kind non-Jewish friends, no one, including Masha,
had the resources for a Jewish burial. The
only options were an ignoble mass burial, or even worse, a mass
crema-tion, which is against Jewish law.
The Hinda Institute stepped in. With the help of Mr. David
Jacobson and Jeremy Seaver from Chicago Jewish Funeral Homes,
Masha got a true Jewish burial; a burial that celebrated her life,
her courageous Jewish soul and her suc-cesses — because every
Jewish life counts.
Masha, we will miss you. A special thank you to Mr. David
Jacobson from Chicago Jewish Funeral Homes for sponsoring this
Jewish burial.
We are grateful, and we are sure that Masha in heaven is as
well.
One institutional chaplain decided to limit the grape-juice for
this Passover Seder; our clients would only get one-ounce total
consumed in front of guards. The Hinda Institute found out and
intervened with the assistance of the Aleph Institute and the head
chaplain of all the correc-tional institutions. The head chaplain
spoke to the warden and informed him that this was not consistent
with previous practices. The memo was rescinded, and our clients
got to celebrate the Passover Seder properly.
Additionally, Passover meals did not arrive at one of the
institu-tions. Our clients undertook a 2-day hunger strike. Hinda
investigated, and the meals were sent the next day with the
determined assistance of the warden.
HINDA ADVOCACYThe Right To Passover
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Please support the important work of the
Hinda Institute by filling out the card on the back page.
Rabbi Scheiman checks in at 4sq.com
@BinyominS
binyomin.scheiman
www.HindaHelps.com
NEWS & SCHMOOZE MANY MAZEL TOVS! Our chaplains Rabbi Shneur
and Ester Scheiman, Rabbi Chaim and Chaya Mushka Scheiman, and
Rabbi Mendel and Yochi Scheiman all had new baby boys.
On March 30, Rabbi Scheiman spoke in Kansas City for
Congregation BIAV.
Having trouble coping with a family member inside? Need to know
what to tell family and friends? Call the office and we can set up
a partner from our peer support group. All calls are
confidential!
From PRISON to HARVARDHOW EDUCATION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE (to
protect the privacy of this individual, author’s name not
included)
When I was 30 years old, I made the worst financial mistake of
my life and spent 44 months in prison. When I entered, I had a
4-year-old child. I was filled with regret, despair and
hopelessness.
The Hinda Institute was there for me. It meant so much to me
that Rabbi Scheiman of the Hinda Institute drove 300 miles to visit
me every month. He not only brought me reading material, helped me
celebrate the Jewish holi-days, but assisted me with my spiritual
and mental needs. I felt so alone and isolated and it meant a lot
that somebody from the outside cared. He under-stood that I was a
human being that made a mistake. He helped me accept that it was
going to be okay and gave me hope.
In prison, I didn’t have access to the internet or technology.
Technology changed very fast and by the time I got out, I had
difficulty using technology even to find a job. I had to quickly
find a job to not violate my probation, but I had no education,
technical expertise or transportation and no one wanted to take a
risk.
I finally got a job in a clinic at the front desk reception. I
worked hard be-cause I desperately needed to keep my job, but my
lack of skills became an issue. One day, I was asked to do a
spreadsheet in Excel. I couldn’t do it. I had no experience and no
one wanted to help. When I told them the truth, my boss laughed in
my face. He called me “retard.” He told all the doctors; my
ig-norance was comical for him.
I eventually enrolled and finished a degree and got accepted to
a MA pro-gram in Political Science. This summer, I can't believe it
but I was accepted to Harvard Summer School! I am flying to Boston
with my mother and daughter.
I still speak to Rabbi and Mrs. Scheiman every week for
spiritual strength — I know they are proud of me.
I regret however not having more access to books, education and
technology while in prison. Education gave me independence.
Employment is empowering.
Were I to have had more access to books and education in prison,
it would have been completely different. It is not just the books
themselves, books would have helped me to understand that there is
hope and that I can change.
If someone told me at that time that I could’ve gotten into
university, I would not have believed it. It would have changed my
perception of myself.
There is a big culture shock when you get out of prison. It
would have been great to get ready and prepare myself to live in
society.
HINDA is launching a new educational program in the
correction-al institutions. This pilot program is being implemented
with sup-port from the Walder Foundation in memory of Daniel
Azari.
More information regarding this exciting new project will follow
in our next newsletter.
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Please accept my tax-deductible contribution to help Rabbi
Scheiman continue his service to the isolated Jews in prison!
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The HINDA Institute9401 N MargailDes Plaines, IL 60016
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Make a difference!Due to budget cuts by the state of Illinois,
Rabbi Scheiman’s chaplaincy is no longer reimbursed as it was in
the past. Help us continue by making a tax-deductible donation
securely on our website.
T H E H I N D A I N S T I T U T E