Mrs. Chana Barrett and her husband were traveling, having left some of their children at home. Realizing they had no formal documents in place, Mrs. Barrett wondered: “What would happen to our children if something happened to us right now, lo aleinu?” Mrs. Barrett asked her friends and neighbors what plans they had for such a predicament, but nobody had anything in place in case of crisis.
Mrs. Barrett is the director of Gesher, a branch of Agudath Israel of Ohio which assists the Cleveland community with programs and resources. Spurred by this mission, Gesher took on the project of demystifying the critical documents every adult should have and simplifying them for everyone’s use.
Last week, Gesher hosted an event titled “AKA: Awareness, Knowledge, Action,” a one-stop-shop for filling out three critically important documents. Each attendee received clear information about the documents’ purposes and how to fill them out. Of key significance was the on-site notarization, enabling each document to be legally binding immediately. The event also had wallet cards and clear instructions on what to do with completed documents, with over a dozen community volunteers present to answer any questions. The primary document highlighted was the Halachic Medical Directive (HMD), which combines a Living Will with a Medical Power of Attorney, legally giving the authority to someone named in the document to make healthcare decisions in partnership with a rabbi, also named in the document. The HMD preemptively resolves questions about life-sustaining treatments, autopsies, and other end-of-life issues, and ensures all treatment is given according to halachah.
Under normal circumstances, the documents featured are not easily accessible, can be confusing to navigate, and often require fees to fill out. Gesher consulted with attorneys, professionals, and rabbonim to supply these documents free of charge and in a clear manner to the over 400 community members who attended AKA. Additionally, these documents are now available for any new community member and anyone who requests them from Gesher.
Agudah thanks Rabbi Boruch Hirschfeld, Rav, Ahavas Yisroel and Rosh Kollel, Kollel Ateres Chaim Boruch – Torah LIFE Institute, for his support of the AKA event and his attending the event to answer pertinent shailos.
“We are gratified to be able to impact the community in such a tremendous way,” said Mrs. Barrett.
“Baruch Hashem, our community is not in the throes of any crisis,” said Rabbi Yitz Frank, director of Agudath Israel of Ohio. “But that doesn’t lessen the importance of having documents in place so that if a crisis ever does arise, chas v’shalom, everything happens according to our wishes and according to halachah.”
To contact Gesher, call 216.862.4559 or email [email protected]
