Where do old machzorim go when a synagogue no longer needs them? Sometimes they end up in the most unlikely places. That was the case when Rabbi Baitelman was looking for a new home for Chabad of Richmond’s machzorim for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The 10-to-15-year-old prayer books were still in great condition but thanks to a sizable donation and the contribution and sponsorship of many families at Chabad, they had recently been replaced with new ones. Still, he knew someone, somewhere could use them.
He was thrilled when Rabbi Binyomin Scheiman of the Hinda Institute reached out requesting the old prayer books be sent to him. Formerly known as the Jewish Prisoners’ Assistance Foundation, the Hinda Institute assists families of those incarcerated, arranges visitation for Jews in jail in Illinois and assists former Jewish inmates with re-entry into society after their release. “These High Holiday prayer books are so important,” Scheiman reflected. “For Jewish inmates, the High Holy Days are a time in their life when they’re very open and repenting for mistakes they’ve made. This is a really generation contribution.”
Scheiman estimated there were up to 150 Jews incarcerated in the state of Illinois and planned to give the machzorim to inmates. Rabbi Baitelman was equally pleased about the donation. “We had donations that allowed us to purchase several hundred new machzorim for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and by sending our used machzorim on to the Hinda Institute it enables us to keep paying this mitzvah forward,” he said. Among the machzorim were Hebrew-English prayer books and Hebrew-Russian versions, too.