Brooklyn, NY – Chesed Shel Emes, the Brooklyn based organization that attends to the needs of any member of the Jewish community, from the time of their death through burial, held a dinner this past Thursday night, June 10th , at the Renaissance Hall in Borough Park to express appreciation to the many dedicated volunteers, government officials and community members who assist them. With close to 500 volunteers, Chesed Shel Emes takes care of approximately one thousand people every year, many of whom have no family, friends or even an affiliation to the Jewish community.

Chesed Shel Emes, founded by Rabbi Mendy Rosenberg twenty five years ago, provides numerous services to the community. From the time of petira, Chesed Shel Emes serves the community, be it with a Tahara, removal of lines and tubes from the deceased, working with appropriate agencies to release bodies promptly to assure a timely burial and fighting autopsies and cremations when necessary. Their services are sometimes required for more unusual needs, such as a Tahara in Puerto Rico or chartering a private jet to transport a niftar from out of town. Their Accident Disaster Recovery Team, who worked together with FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, has, unfortunately, cleaned hundreds of accident scenes, ensuring that all blood and any severed body parts are buried together with the niftar. To date, Chesed Shel Emes has buried over 1200 m’sei mitzvah, people who have no one else to bury them. Additionally, they operate a Bikur Cholim in several area hospitals and have a group of volunteers available to learn mishnayos for the deceased.