When Barry Kaseff of Leawood turned 40, he didn’t want a big party. Instead, he asked family and friends to join him for the day in building a Habitat for Humanity home.
“There is a teaching in the Jerusalem Talmud which states, ‘Happiness comes to a man when he dwells beneath his own roof,’” Kaseff said.
For his 50th birthday, those same family and friends plan to gather again to volunteer for the nonprofit organization dedicated to building quality, affordable homes for families in need. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Now, Kaseff is encouraging the entire Jewish community to join him in a more ambitious project — generating the money and the manpower to build an entire home from start to finish through Heartland Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes in Wyandotte, Leavenworth and Johnson counties in Kansas.
The cost of the building one home is approximately $140,000 and takes at least 4,000 volunteer hours.
“This is an incredible opportunity for the Jewish community of Kansas City to come together and build a home for a low-income family in need, in the spirit of tikkun olam,” Kaseff said.
Kaseff’s project has been coined The Mitzvah House and already has the support of a long list of Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, of which Kaseff is a longtime member and former board member.
Other organizations who have pledged financial and/or volunteer support include The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, Congregation Ohev Sholom, Menorah Legacy Foundation, Jewish Family Services, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Congregation Beth Torah, Congregation Beth Shalom, University of Kansas Hillel, Village Shalom, Kehilath Israel Synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner (BIAV), Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, University of Kansas Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), and Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) and Moishe House.
“Jewish tradition also teaches that one who occupies himself with the needs of the community is as though he occupies himself with Torah. So, it is most appropriate that a group of leaders in the Jewish community have reached out to Habitat for Humanity to launch a plan for the organized Jewish community to take responsibility for the building of a house for a family who otherwise could not afford one,” Kaseff said.
Kaseff also has a committee on board to help organize The Mitzvah House and hopes to add representatives from each of the supporting agencies to that committee in the coming weeks. Current committee members include Dave Herbet and his son Asher Herbet, Jeff Goldenberg, Alan Edelman and Ari Lubowicz.
Herbet, a longtime friend of Kaseff’s, worked on the first home for Habitat and plans to work on The Mitzvah House as well.
“It was a lot of fun and a meaningful way to celebrate a milestone birthday,” Herbet said. “A lot of individuals and organizations in the Jewish community have been involved with Habitat for Humanity over the years. The concept of us doing The Mitzvah House with the whole Jewish community raising the funds and providing the man hours would be a huge accomplishment.”
“I also think it’s something the Jewish community can rally behind regardless of your observance level,” Herbet added. “It brings together members of the whole Jewish community.”
If all goes as planned, construction on The Mitzvah House could begin this spring or early summer and would take about four months to complete.
But that won’t be the end of Kaseff’s or, he hopes, the Jewish community’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity. In 2016, Kaseff plans to partner with Habitat for Humanity in Kansas City, Mo., to build the House that Abraham Built — a home that’s built every other year by volunteers of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing if the Jewish community could help build a home every year?” asked Kaseff. “I would love to see this become an ongoing effort and commitment. I really think these — a house in Kansas one year, and one in Missouri the following year — could further bind our community together.”
Rabbi Scott White of Ohev Sholom has worked on homes through The House that Abraham Built initiative and would love to see the Jewish community support the cause — now and for years to come.
“On those build days, you experience a great spirit of fellowship,” said Rabbi White. “It’s inspiring in a very natural way. We all share the American heritage; the differences between us are miniscule.”
Donations can be made online at jcfkc.org or mailed to the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City: Jewish Community Habitat Fund, 5801 W. 115th Street, Suite 104, Overland Park, KS 66211.
For more information, contact Kaseff at . For updates visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mitzvahhouse.{/mprestriction}