Of all the core values here at Milken, Areivut is perhaps the most important. We’re constantly reminded to take care of one another and treat each other the way we want to be treated.

This value is taught to Milken middle school students in a multitude of ways, such as Tefilah, community meetings, and of course, service learning.

What is service learning like at middle school, and why do we do it?

“Taking care of others in a million different ways is a Jewish lesson. What I mean is that all over the Torah, God tells us to take care of those who are vulnerable, The widow, the orphan, the stranger, the theme of taking care of such people repeats all throughout the Torah. It’s not just a one time thing. And so the message that we are to take care of others is a huge part of Jewish learning. And through the Learning Service events, we are fulfilling the commandments of Torah, and we’re learning what Judaism instructs us to do” explained Ms. Lowenstein, Jewish Study Teacher.

Though service learning can take many forms, its primary focus is helping the less fortunate, often by preparing meals or improving shelters.

Recently, I went with a group of my peers to spend the day at our Big Kitchen Los Angeles, more commonly known as OBKLA. OBKLA, a community-run, non-denominational industrial kitchen in the Pico/Robertson area, prepares and distributes kosher meals to people in need, was inspired by the life of Margaret Feder.  Ms. Feder was a teenage girl who worked in the kitchen at Auschwitz during World War II. She risked her life smuggling food to the hungry, and we honor her by volunteering.

The volunteering experience was really interesting.

While we made chickpea patties and cookies, which was surprisingly fun, the staff members told the stories of Margaret Feder.  My experience was very engaging, because after we volunteered at  OBK, we got to have lunch in a nearby park, and the teacher chaperones brought footballs and frisbees and other activities. Then we went back to school and filled out surveys about our thoughts. All of these parts made the entire experience a very educational and enjoyable one.

I thought that making food and packaging was a really special experience, and I felt really connected to my Jewish heritage by taking care of the less fortunate.

But what do faculty think of it?

“It’s valuable, definitely a positive experience for students, and a great hands on. Like, it’s great for us to be able to connect with and give back to the outside community,” said Ms. Lisa Mamos,Division Director of Academic Support, Grades 6-8.

Is there anything she’d do differently?

“We have different opportunities to do different things. I love that we touch on different age groups, organizations and different causes. And so I think just continuing to expand would be really beneficial.”

Students had a variety of opinions as well.

“You could change it [community service] by making it more interactive and more independent, and if you have options that you could choose from, [It] would be better.” said Jack Mittman ’32.

But how do we move forward?

“If I could change one thing for the Learning Service program, I would love to make the Learning Service short school days so that everyone could go home when they got back to school.” Ms. Lowenstein said.

The school is always learning and taking feedback from the teachers and the students to make the experience more interactive and meaningful.