Mitzvah Day a reminder good deeds can only help

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/11/2023 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THERE shouldn’t need to be a day designated to the doing of good deeds. But given the current state of the world and the conflicts, violence, hatred, racism, and intolerance that permeate every aspect of society, such a day seems more than essential.

Mitzvah Day is that day.

Mitzvah is the Hebrew word for commandment, but has largely come to denote a good deed or an act of loving kindness. Doing mitzvot, the plural of mitzvah, is a moral obligation in Jewish observance.

Mitzvah Day is a coordinated international day of social action that began in the United Kingdom’s Jewish community in 2005, and has since become a yearly undertaking in myriad countries across the globe.

“Mitzvah Day is a grass-roots annual event that brings people of all faiths and backgrounds together for hands-on social action,” explains Ellyn Shulman, Winnipeg’s Mitzvah Day chair.

During Mitzvah Day, individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, and a variety of other groups undertake a range of volunteer projects for worthwhile causes and charities in their local communities. The focus is on hands-on volunteerism, reinforcing connections among disparate groups, including religious ones, and addressing critical societal challenges.

“It is an amazing opportunity to learn about local charities and to meet other community members while engaging in acts of service,” Shulman adds. “This event encourages groups to

get creative and to establish new projects that address real local needs.”

The 2023 Mitzvah Day is on Sunday.

Mitzvah Day in Winnipeg is organized by NCJW, National Council of Jewish Women-Winnipeg Section. NCJW is a voluntary women’s service organization that for decades has pursued social justice and been instrumental in improving the welfare of individuals and communities. The local section, and its counterparts across Canada, have stood front and centre in addressing such issues as human trafficking, domestic abuse, and day care affordability. Among numerous other initiatives, it has hosted citizenship court, organized EAL classes for immigrants, and carried out audiometer testing in elementary schools.

During past Winnipeg Mitzvah Days, volunteers have collected winter outerwear for the Koats for Kids program, distributed children’s toys to inner-city drop-in centres, and made sandwiches for local shelters. This year’s initiatives include collecting books for the library at the youth drop-in centre, Rossbrook House, and preparing sandwiches for clients of the Main Street Project.

Those sandwiches will be prepared, packed and delivered by students of the Gray Academy of Jewish Education.

“This will be the third Mitzvah Day that my students on student council and I have planned,” says Andrew Kaplan, the school’s student life coordinator. “I feel it brings us together as a school community and the students learn the value of chesed (kindness) by actively engaging in an activity that will benefit people.”

“I find that the student leaders can see the tangible benefits in their hard work and hopefully, this leads to them extending their volunteerism and charity to other parallel endeavours,” he adds.

Back in the UK, where Mitzvah day originated, organizers have put out a special call in this year.

“In this time of division, pain, anger, and sadness, we invite Jewish and non-Jewish people to do what we all do best, to repair our fractured and grieving world. We urge our synagogues, schools, youth groups and others to do what we always do; to contact local charities, to support them hands on and, crucially, to reach out to our neighbours of all faiths and none in warmth, kindness and in friendship.”

Mitzvah Day, of course, won’t cure all of the world’s ills. It doesn’t have the power to enforce a ceasefire, bring hostages home, or dethrone world leaders bent on destruction. It won’t end antisemitism or Islamophobia, or other expressions of hate. But step by step, from one initiative to the next, and from one year to the next, a day devoted to good deeds is bound to make the world a better place.

swchisvin@gmail.com

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER