Yair Meyers has played a pivotal role in setting up a volunteer group known as ‘Pillar3” at Congregation TBDJ. The name Pillar3 was chosen because in the Mishna in Pirkei Avot it is stated that the world stands on three things: Torah, Serving Hashem and Acts of Kindness. Yair and his colleagues are certainly personifying the third pillar by providing a host of services for synagogue members of all ages and to residents of Cote Saint-Luc.
Yair and his team of more than 70 volunteers are doing errands, from buying groceries to delivering meals and handling personal banking. They delivered Passover meals to over 170 locations and have set up a popular Hotline for members to call at all hours for any need.
“We are also proactively checking in on our members, phoning people who are housebound due to the virus in order to touch base and have a quick chat,” notes Yair. “For many of us, it is the highlight of our day as we kibitz and learn more about each other. Acquaintances have become friends, and in fact some of the call recipients are now phoning the volunteers to wish them a Shabbat Shalom and ask how they are.”
“We are all looking forward to the day,” Yair concludes, “when we can hug each other and celebrate the end of the crisis together in shul.”