Two Tales of Tikkun Olam

Two remarkable stories of Tikkun Olam from the past week, not unrelated:

In last week’s Jewish Journal, David Finnigan profiled Kayitz Finley, son of Rabbi Mordechai Finley of the Los Angeles congregation of Ohr Ha Torah.  Since he graduated in 2000 from Grant High School in Van Nuys in 2000, Kayitz Finley has served three tours with the Marines — one in Afghanistan, two in Iraq.

He remembers the first time he fired his weapon for real, near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, in a blur of a firefight.

“It was early, early in the morning, around 5 a.m.,” Finley said.  “We had stopped the convoy to get a quick stretch . . .

“I remember standing and talking with a buddy of mine, and from the north, we heard a very faint ‘crack’ sound,” he continued.  “We saw a little black dot getting larger and larger toward us, and within seconds, we noticed it was a projectile.  It was an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] . . . 

“And just like this, like the flick of a switch, we went into combat mode . . .

“When you go in, of course, you’re scared at first.  You got bullets flying by your head, and you don’t know what to do for a second.  But you just re-group, and you breathe in, take a deep breath.  You just wipe the sweat off your brow, and you just go for it.  You’ll be all right.  Use all the training that you’ve learned.  Keep calm.”

On April 2, 2003, Finley became part of the Marines’ historic Tigris River crossing into Baghdad, and spent Passover in the city.  Later, his unit moved to Al Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad:

Finley’s unit found restaurants and homes that welcomed the Marines as liberators and called them honored guests.  Finley made friends with an Iraqi policeman, Mohammed, and he told Mohammed that he was Jewish.  Photos of Finley with Iraqis show Finley’s unloaded rifle resting nearby.

Finley and the other young Marines oversaw the creation of Al Hillah’s new fire department, plus the opening of Hussein-free public schools.  He helped teach Iraqis the basics of police work:  arrests, takedowns and how to handle prisoners humanely.

He endured at least nine weeks of combat, and knew 11 Marines who lost their lives.

In the middle of all this bloody combat, Finley lost his longtime link to God:  “I felt a little disconnected.  It was tough.  It hurt me.  It was very tough for me.”

He turned to his father, Rabbi Finley.  Through e-mail exchanges, Finley said his father advised:  “Stay calm, be cool, have faith.  It’ll come back to you.  Don’t worry about it.  It happens to a lot of people.”

He is now back home.  This summer he will make his first trip to Israel, then start college in the fall, hoping eventually to become a physical therapist or a Marine pilot.

He looks back on his service in Iraq as tikkun olam, his personal attempt to heal and free a country from a tyrant and his rape squads:  “Forget about the weapons of mass destruction — we got rid of Saddam Hussein.”

In 2003, during his first tour in Iraq, Kayitz Finley received a care package from Carolyn Blashek, a member of his father’s congregation.  Blashek had begun buying small gifts, packaging them in her living room, and sending them to soldiers in Iraq, using names of soldiers she got from local military personnel she contacted.

She did it with her own money, alone, calling her effort Operation Gratitude. Friends began helping, word spread, and on Memorial Day Weekend in 2003, she organized the assembly and mailing of several hundred packages to the troops.  Throughout the following year, she devoted full time to her nascent operation.

Then she set up a website, the Internet kicked in, media (both old and new) got interested, some corporations sponsored contributions, and on Memorial Day Weekend in 2004, there were enough volunteers and financial assistance to send out a couple thousand packages.  And packages continued to be sent throughout the year, as more and more people started helping out.

Last weekend, Operation Gratitude had its third Memorial Day Weekend effort.  Hundreds and hundreds of volunteers showed up. 

With numerous corporate sponsors, and contributions from across the country (helped by multiple prominent appeals on the Internet by Lucianne), Operation Gratitude — working out of the local National Guard armory — assembled packages throughout the weekend, filled with items donated by individuals, organizations, Girl Scout Troops, schools, community groups and businesses, including Jeep, Oceanspray Cranberries, San Francisco Bay Coffee Co., Emer’gen-C, Sunkish Pistachios, Coppertone, Ty, Inc. Cell Boost, CallingCards.com, 3M Corp., Newman’s Own, Mars Candy and House of Batteries. 

Each package was individually addressed, with a handwritten note of appreciation from an adult or schoolchild.  The note is probably as significant as the snacks, DVDs, games, T-shirts, phone cards, mini-fans and other gifts that fill the large box sent to each soldier.

The vast majority of names now come from military commanders and leaders in the field who saw the impact of the program on the morale of their soldiers.  The wall at the armory is plastered with letters, emails and pictures sent to Blashek from troops in Iraq, such as this one:

I know you are not afforded the opportunity to see the happiness on the faces of those that receive gift packages, but I can tell you first hand that the smiles light up the darkest corners of Iraq. [More letters are here].

To date, Operation Gratitude has sent an incredible 63,984 packages, reaching a significant portion of the entire U.S. military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan.  You can donate an item, write a letter, or contribute financially here.

Shabbat Shalom.