Need Something? 80,000 People Are Happy to Help You

Need Something??? is likely one of the most active groups on Facebook today. With over 80,000 members, they strive to make the world a somewhat better place. The concept is simple: if you need something, ask. If you can give, give.

The posts in the group are divided into two main categories: requests for help based on collective wisdom, known in internet jargon as "hive mind" (imagine a virtual space filled with people's minds – each contributing a piece of information you might not have). In this part, you'll find questions like: "Who knows a kosher restaurant in Barcelona?", "Anyone have name ideas for twins?", "Advice on how to heal a sad heart?", or "Looking for a beautiful and unique wedding song".

The second part deals with posts that request actual assistance, whether it's rides, equipment for a needy family, moving an item from place to place, refrigerator repair for a Holocaust survivor, lost and found, or help with shifts at the bedside of a sick child. Almost all requests receive effective and immediate responses. The group's motto is: "You’re not doing a favor to someone in need; they’re doing you a favor by giving you an act of kindness," based on the teachings of Jewish sages and Hasidism.

The group was founded by Eitan Pasker, a 30-year-old religious man from Ra'anana, over four years ago. "I started it because I felt for a long time that there's so much good in each of us that doesn’t always get the spotlight or the right channel to be expressed. I believe everyone has something to contribute to the world, and here in Israel, you see it more than anywhere else. Notice how when people return from abroad, they feel 'there's no place like home'. The warmth here, and the willingness to help, are truly remarkable. So, I wanted to create an accessible platform to express all this goodness among the people of Israel. The media often shows only the negative aspects. Negative is a headline, a story with ratings, while good things happening are less interesting. In Israeli media discourse, good is discussed less than bad, and there’s no reason for it. My goal in starting the group was to amplify this goodness, strengthen it, and provide a place for it to grow."

One of the most important aspects for him in establishing the group was to create a cross-sectoral place that would foster unity and closeness among the people of Israel. A place with no disputes, heated debates, or cruel comments.

How do you make sure the group stays true to its original purpose and doesn't get dragged into arguments or idle chatter like many other Facebook groups?

"The group has rules. Their purpose is to maintain harmony and prevent as many conflicts as possible. Among the rules, you'll find clauses prohibiting the publication of political or protest content in its various forms (including petitions), derogatory language, offensive content, immodest content, or anything that might cause distress to a person or sector. Additionally, commercial or marketing statuses, trivial posts aimed at relieving boredom, or even just jokes are prohibited. It's worth noting that we're also aware of the group's limitations, and this is one of the reasons we ask not to ask halachic or medical questions, for which it's appropriate to get a professional and authoritative answer from a halachic authority or doctor."

It's not easy to manage such a group. How do you balance managing the group with your personal life?

"It's worth noting that I'm not alone in this. The group has a team of more than 20 amazing and dedicated volunteers who manage it in shifts. They delete inappropriate posts, manage member interactions, link to similar past questions, and even do 'kindness boosts,' meaning if someone asks for help and doesn’t get it, and the post drifts down, they comment to bring the post back up, which in my view is pure love. A lot of work happens behind the scenes, all done with great love."

Who is the target audience?

"The group is for all of Israel – not just for religious people or secular people. It aims to unite the people of Israel. We have managers in the group who aren't religious. I have a secular manager who's an activist from Meretz, another is a settler from Elkana. There are young people and there are older ones. Everyone thinks differently – but we all share the same vision of mutual help, unity of Israel, and unconditional love. In fact, because of the enormous niceness, our group was nearly shut down..."

It sounds intriguing, so I ask for explanations, and he explains: "One fine day, I wake up to an enormous sea of messages asking "why did you block me from the group?" It turned out the group had disappeared from Facebook. I was in shock, I couldn’t understand why this would happen. We tried to find out from Facebook Israel why this happened, and the answer was delayed. After a rather disheartening week, I wrote a status on my personal Facebook in which I prayed to the Creator of the universe for the group's return. Just after writing the status, literally a minute later, the group went back online. It really strengthened my belief that everything happens for good reasons. Shortly thereafter, an apology was also issued from Facebook globally – apparently, they thought we were some sort of malicious virus."

Malicious virus? You?

"Yes. Exactly. As I mentioned, the group is managed by a team of over 20 volunteers, who work in shifts around the clock to maintain and uphold the group. Each new user who joins receives a nice welcome message, explaining the purpose of the group and its goals, along with a link to the group rules. In that month, 5,000 people joined and received a personal welcome message. Facebook Israel wasn’t used to seeing manual messages of that scale, so they thought it was a programmed viral virus sending automatic messages. Of course, once they realized their mistake, they apologized. Nowadays, they appreciate us very much."

What story moved you the most?

"There's no single story that moved me the most. Every day brings new stories. I feel that there are over a million angels above created from the acts of kindness happening in this group." Still, when I ask him to mention a special story, he shares one of his favorites: "Someone shared about a sick teen in the department where she worked. The teen, she said, loved listening to Shuli Rand, and she wanted to invite the singer to visit him and bring him joy – but how do you reach him? She posted a status in our group. It turns out the status reached Shuli himself, who came to give a private performance for the sick teen. Sadly, this story doesn’t have a happy ending as the boy later passed away, yet there’s great satisfaction in being able to bring him joy in his last days through the group."

Another story involves lone soldiers: "Someone posted a request about hosting lone soldiers for the Passover Seder. There was a group of soldiers who hadn’t yet arranged for the holiday, and he was seeking families across the country who could host them. A few days later, the person who wrote the status posted that 300 soldiers were hosted through the group, and now there’s a surplus of families wanting to host – without enough soldiers. If people know of lone soldiers wanting to be hosted, they should reach out to him. Sometimes I think to myself that Hashem created Facebook for deeds like this."

Are there any future plans?

"Always. Recently, we established a nonprofit organization of 'Need Something?' through which projects will be carried out connecting volunteers with places in need (e.g., nursing homes, hospitals, absorption centers). Our first project is at a nursing home, aiming to create a project with volunteers for writing personal stories of the home’s residents, and perhaps even an exhibition. There's something to look forward to."