The event sparked new collaborations, innovative ideas, and lasting chizuk for nearly 70 organization heads
It spanned just six and a half hours, but for 70 heads of North American Bikur Cholim organizations, the Orthodox Union’s inaugural National Bikur Cholim Conference 2025 in New York’s Financial District was nothing short of transformative.
For leaders whose work is often carried out in isolation, the conference offered a rare chance to connect with peers who truly understand the weight and privilege of providing comfort, logistical help, and emotional support to patients and families at their most vulnerable.
Recognizing this shared reality, the OU’s Department of Synagogue Initiatives — part of the OU’s Department of Community Engagement — created the conference as a space for Bikur Cholim leaders to collaborate, exchange ideas, and build networks of mutual support. The department plays a vital role in providing vision, leadership, and programs that strengthen Orthodox communities and congregations across North America.
Participants bonded over shared experiences, challenges, strategies, and achievements, leaving with practical tools and significant chizuk to propel them through the months ahead.
“It’s hard to describe the power of what we witnessed at this gathering,” reflects OU National Director of Synagogue Initiatives Rabbi Adir Posy, who organized the event. “Dozens of women and men from across North America came together not for recognition, not for resources, but for responsibility. They are the quiet heroes who open their homes, fill hospital rooms with comfort, and ensure that no Jew ever feels alone in their time of need. To see these individuals from such diverse communities united by a shared mission of chessed was nothing short of breathtaking.”
OU Managing Director for Community Engagement Rabbi Yaakov Glasser notes the conference reflected the Orthodox Union’s broader vision, to serve as a unifying space for those supporting every dimension of communal life.
“Through connecting, sharing best practices, and confronting challenges with creativity and compassion, we can elevate the impact of all who serve and support our community,” he says. “The OU is uniquely positioned to bring together such a diverse range of geographic, demographic, and ideological segments of our community, all in the service of strengthening Klal Yisrael.”
Program sessions included “Collective Purchasing & Shared Resources,” “Strengthening Bikur Cholim Through Technology,” and “What Keeps Us Up at Night and What Gets Us Out of Bed.”
The latter was led by Audrey Siegel, executive director of Bikur Cholim of Greater Washington (BCGW), which serves 12 hospitals, operates a hospitality house, stocks seven hospital pantries, runs a kosher kitchen, and offers numerous communal programs.
“For me, as for many participants, one worry is how to keep pace financially with our community’s growing needs and the ways BCGW works to meet them,” she says. “Knowing how essential our work is, and the positive impact it has on so many individuals, gives me the energy each morning to rise, engage in our mission, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.”
The program also included two facilitated small-group sessions, “What We Do and What We Need” and “Volunteers & Sustainability,” giving leaders a chance to exchange best practices, share common hurdles, and explore long-term solutions.
“The facilitators were excellent, and we managed to share practical advice in a very short amount of time,” says Siegel. “I came away feeling less alone and more a part of a dynamic team of people throughout the world, all working toward the same goals. Our communities differ, as do the specifics of what we offer, but we are united in our mission to help Klal Yisrael when it’s needed most.”
Among the session facilitators was Dr. Nina Butler, founding director of Bikur Cholim of Pittsburgh, which supports local and out-of-town patients and their families facing medical challenges. The organization provides home hospitality, kosher meals, transportation to hospitals, airports, and appointments, and assists with a variety of personal requests.
“As the discussion leader, I invited each participant to share a bit about their city and what makes their Bikur Cholim unique,” says Butler. “Those simple prompts sparked genuine interest and rich, organic conversation. The amount of learning that emerged from just listening to one another was remarkable. There are so many selfless people doing chessed as a full-time profession that anyone would be inspired. Each person had a story, and a lesson to share. It was priceless.”
Bikur Cholim of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns (Bikur Cholim FR & 5T) provides comprehensive support to those facing illness and their families. From meals, visits, medical equipment loans, and transportation, to subsidizing medical costs — including often-uncovered mental health therapies — the group addresses a wide range of needs. It also offers respite care, senior programming, and educational outreach through community lectures and preventive health initiatives.
“When I saw an ad for the conference, I was very curious,” says Bikur Cholim FR & 5T’s president Leah Fink. “I had actually spoken with my organization about doing a Bikur Cholim Expo to learn from each other’s experiences. The OU National Bikur Cholim Conference accomplished a lot of what I envisioned, and I was thrilled to see it on a much larger scale than I had imagined.”
In addition to forging new connections, Fink deepened relationships with two leaders she had only previously met by phone. Since the conference, she has followed up with various Bikur Cholim organizations to discuss innovative ideas, seek advice on implementing certain practices, and exchange forms and protocols.
She was especially inspired by the achievements of Bikur Cholims in smaller communities.
“Our community is huge — we have 100 shuls here,” Fink notes. “I was moved by smaller communities, whose Bikur Cholims operate on a large scale. Our population is over 10 times the size of the community in Passaic-Clifton, New Jersey, for example, and they send out an astounding number of meals. After the conference, my message to our Bikur Cholim was, ‘We need to increase our volume and reach more people. We need to find the cholim, by ramping up our marketing efforts and community outreach.’”
In the short time since the event, Bikur Cholim FR & 5T has connected with local shul rabbis to help spread the word about their services. They also plan to advertise to all the local schools, update their website, and expand their social media presence.
Like Fink, Siegel left the conference energized and ready to expand her organization’s reach.
“At the conference, we created a WhatsApp Group and established relationships that have already been helpful,” she says. “Thanks to these new relationships, I was able to help two families requiring assistance in another city to connect with the best Bikur Cholim contact in that area. I am grateful to the OU for introducing me to so many other Bikur Cholim organizations, and facilitating such powerful collaborations.”
The conference attendees give Rabbi Posy faith in the future of Am Yisrael.
“At a time when the world feels fractured, these leaders are stitching it back together with acts of incredible kindness,” he reflects. “This gathering reminded me that the Jewish people are in extraordinary hands.”
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About the Department of Community Engagement
The Department of Community Engagement provides vision, leadership, and programmatic support to Orthodox communities and congregations throughout North America. Our goal is to strengthen our communities, member congregations, and their constituencies, by providing religious, educational, social, and cultural programming on relevant and timely issues that impact upon the lives of individuals and families. We are readily available to provide an array of programming, design and promotional services to implement cohesive and successful programs or give support and guidance to help communities present their own events.
About the Orthodox Union
Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union (OU), or Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, serves as the voice of American Orthodox Jewry, with over 400 congregations in its synagogue network. As the umbrella organization for American Orthodox Jewry, the OU is at the forefront of advocacy work on both state and federal levels, outreach to Jewish teens and young professionals through NCSY, Israel Free Spirit Birthright, Yachad and OU Press, among many other divisions and programs.