Sitting around a large wooden conference table, a handful of women manipulate colorful bundles in their hands.
Click, click.
Fingers fly back and forth, clutching metal needles as looping yarn darts this way and that.
Tap, tap.
Amid the background noise, the conversation flows. Smiles abound, and the laughter is light.
Welcome to the Knitting Circle of Chabad of Southeast Morris County in Madison, N.J.
“This is what it’s all about; talking, socializing, knitting,” says Deborah Brody of Summit, N.J., a founding member of the group. “It’s a wonderful, warm environment.”
The Knitting Circle started eight years ago as a way for local women with a common passion to have the chance to get to know one other. But there’s a lot more to it than that.
The number of members in the group ebbs and flows, though averages between eight and 10. They come together every Tuesday morning to knit—not for themselves, but primarily for those in need, especially those in Israel.
“People like to be active, productive, and the Knitting Circle is a great way to do so,” affirms Rabbi Shalom Lubin, who along with his wife, Aharona, founded Chabad in Madison in 2002. “Chabad is about doing mitzvahs and encouraging people to help others, and that’s exactly what this knitting group does. Coming once a week and being creative can really make a difference in someone’s life.”
Besides, the rabbi quips, “you can only knit so many mittens for yourself.”
‘Sympathy and Love’
To date, the group has donated more than 1,000 handmade items to charity—hats, blankets, scarves, shawls.
Most recently, they donated items to residents of Union Beach, N.J., whose homes were destroyed in October 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. Another beneficiary is the Chabad Terror Victims Project, which helps some 3,000 families and wounded soldiers.
“The reactions of the families are very exciting,” says Rabbi Menachem Kutner, the project’s director. “They are happy to know that there are people who are far from them physically, but in their hearts close to them. Through this project, they get sympathy and love.”
Lubin, who has taken some of the care packages of woolen wonders and personally delivered them to Israel, recalls one drop-off in particular.
“We went to this small town and were introduced to these little girls who had lost a father in the terror attacks,” he recalls. Each girl received a scarf. “It was 90 degrees, and this [one] little girl held it and held it. She loved it.”
The fact that someone took the time to make it for her personally, says Lubin, made all the difference to that child.
And to make it look extra-special, each item is individually packaged.
Trying to get the women to explain why they knit for others isn’t easy, as they shrug off the suggestion that they’re doing something out of the ordinary. After all, knitting and volunteering have always gone hand in hand, quite literally. Besides, they say, it’s just a Jewish thing to do.
“Judaism is giving,” declares Susan Schaffer, who learned to knit at age 11.
“It’s a form of charity,” says Ann Fitilis—Schaffer’s older sister—who found out about the group through a newspaper ad.
“It’s helping those in need,” Schaffer continues.
“Whether they want it or not,” adds Fitilis.
Then there’s the social aspect of the work.
“We are all on different levels, and we help each other out,” says Shelley Rosenthal, who knitted as a child and then didn’t pick it up again for another 25 years. “If you have a question, you can go to a store or you can come here.”
It’s not just knitting questions, though, that get answered during the circle time, which lasts about 90 minutes. Given the variety of topics the women discuss, inevitably a question about Jewish holidays, kosher food or even religious practice comes up. At that point, they often turn to the Lubins for guidance.
‘The Act of Giving’
While the women’s handiwork create the projects, it’s the donations of skeins of yarn from Lion Brand Yarn that allow them the opportunity to knit in the first place.
Founded in 1878 by Ruben Blumenthal, the company remains family-owned and community-oriented.
“We’ve been donating yarn to charity and to groups knitting for charity for as long as people have asked us to,” says David Blumenthal, president and CEO of Lion Brand. “We’re a family business, and the values of our fathers and our grandfathers passed down to us include giving tzedakah, so this was simply part of the culture from the beginning.”
The company has even created a “Charity Connector” on its website with free patterns, “how to” articles and listings of charities that knit for others so people can find a group near them and sign up.
“Our purpose is to help knitters and crocheters find ways of enjoying their craft,” says Blumenthal. “It isn’t just about selling yarn. …We know that knitters are people who enjoy the act of giving.”
The women at the New Jersey Chabad Knitting Circle have certainly found that—and more.
“I love it! I absolutely love it!” gushes Sheila Wolfensohn, who learned to knit when she was 8 or 9 years old. “I feel very blessed and to give back in” this way.
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