Mitzvah Day

Since we joined our temple only last summer, today was our first opportunity to take part in the annual Mitzvah* Day. This is a day when the entire temple community comes together to "repair the world" (tikkun olam) by participating in various charitable projects. The list of projects ran the gamut from going to an Alzheimer center to sing with the residents to decorating baseball hats for chemo patients to preparing "birthday boxes" for kids living in homeless shelters. I had a lot of trouble deciding what to sign up for, but I knew it had to be something that the kids would get. For instance, as important as it is to stuff envelopes for a mass mailing from the Ronald McDonald house, I felt that they needed something more concrete to make it meaningful. We ended up volunteering to help make lunches for a local soup kitchen. Ten families together purchased the ingredients for 200 bag lunches consisting of a PBJ sandwich, a snack, an apple, a drink, a mint, a napkin, and a little drawing (mostly by the kids, but I did some too!). Even Julie could help by putting items in the bags. The people who will receive these lunches normally get only one meal a day, so we kept trying to drive home the point that because of what we were doing, these people would get a second meal today. We talked about how we have more than enough of what we need, so it's our duty to help those who are not so lucky. I'm not sure Julie understood, but I think Steph and Pete felt really good about giving food to people who would otherwise go hungry. I hope we can find other opportunities to take action in ways that the kids can understand.

*The Hebrew word mitzvah literally means commandment; it's mostly used to refer to a good deed. Charitable acts are indeed required of all Jews.

Comments

[Lynda]

What a wonderful thing to do! I always feel so much better when I "do" something rather than just give money.

[scott]

They're required of everyone, surely. Good for you and your kids :)

[Lora]

I nice choice in activities, especially with the large number of street people in your area. They can be rather scary to children, so a lesson in compassion towards their situation at a young age is very wise.