Houston Jewish Chaplaincy Program

Every Friday volunteer Dan Trachtenberg, takes the day off from his busy law practice to deliver Shabbat boxes to each patient. What is special about the boxes themselves is that they are decorated and filled as part of a mitzvah project for a bar or bat mitzvah student. Inside the bag are a variety of items including challah rolls donated by Three Brothers Bakery; Kedem grape juice provided at a deep discount by Belden’s Grocery Store; and other items to make Shabbat a little more meaningful while staying in the hospital. Often, combined with the special visits, Dan spends six hours in this meaningful work each Friday.

Dan also delivers electric candle sticks for Shabbat. One patient wrote “Every Shabbat I would light candles with my mother but have not been able to do so since being hospitalized in a city so far from home. When Dan brought me the candles, I called my mom. She had already lit her own candles but she said the prayer with me while I lit mine. We both cried. Thank you.”