On an early March Sunday, Miriam Reines arrived at Temple Emanu-El for lunch. For over 30 years, Miriam has spent hundreds of Sundays at the temple with fellow members, preparing and serving meals to New Yorkers in need as part of Temple Emanu-El’s Sunday Lunch Program. Except on this winter Sunday, Miriam was the one being served. Sunday Lunch volunteers past and present, Temple Emanu-El staff, and Miriam’s extended family crowded into the Leventritt Room to celebrate her three decades of service, including 25 years as the program’s chair.
“I get a great deal of satisfaction from volunteering with Sunday Lunch,” Miriam said. “I know that at the end of the day, I have done something that is worthwhile and helped people.”
Miriam started volunteering with the program in the 1980s, when the temple served a sit-down meal in I.M. Wise Hall. Eventually, the program switched to bag lunches. After she retired and moved back into the city, Miriam became the program’s chair. Miriam says her service is driven by a strong desire to give back.
“I knew how life could be difficult. I’ve always tried to help whenever possible,” she said.
For Miriam, Sunday Lunch has become an important community. While preparing meals, the group discusses an array of topics. Many socialize outside of volunteering, accompanying each other to concerts and meals throughout the city.
“I have always told our volunteers, ‘We are here for our members as well as our guests,’” Miriam said.
Surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Miriam and the Sunday Lunch community shared special memories from years past. Miriam “passed the ladle” to Beverly Michel, Sunday Lunch’s new chairperson. Rabbi Sarah H. Reines, Miriam’s daughter and a member of Temple Emanu-El’s clergy, shared a message celebrating her mother and the Sunday Lunch program before leading the group in the HaMotzi, the Jewish blessing over bread.
The celebratory luncheon was a moment to pause and reflect. Miriam remains on the Sunday Lunch committee and will continue to serve as a shift captain. She also has no plans to stop her other volunteer projects at the temple, including her work with the Herbert and Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica. For Miriam Reines, service is not just a one-time act. It’s a way of life.
