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Community Corner

SOUTH AREA JEWISH COMMUNITY PREPARES FOR SOCIAL ACTION MITZVAH DAY' ON APRIL 6

              “A community is too heavy for anyone to carry alone.”

You can sell lemonade to raise money to fight childhood cancer. You could make a blanket for a less fortunate family. You could do landscape work for a senior citizen. You could deliver Passover groceries to a shut-in.

There are many ways to ‘do a mitzvah’ (Hebrew for good deed), and on Sunday, April 6, hundreds of social action-minded people south of Boston will join hand-in-hand to help others, setting aside part of the day, dedicating themselves to serve their communities in the spirit of Jewish values.

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“During Social Action Mitzvah Day, the first program of its kind in the area, a host of Jewish organizations and temples south of Boston are collaborating to make this corner of the world a little better,” says Debby Stein Sharpe, a Social Action Committee member at Temple Beth David of the South Shore in Canton, one of the organizers. “Of course you can do a mitzvah any day – and most of us do – but we wanted to demonstrate our strength as a community. We also wanted everyone to take a step back from their hectic daily schedules and consider how fortunate we are, how great it feels to help others, and to set an example for our kids,” she says. “It’s part of our tradition, helping the world and making the world a better place. As the Bible says, “A community is too heavy for anyone to carry alone.”

‘Mitzvah,’ one of Judaism’s basic tenets, refers to an ‘act of human kindness.’ Mitzvot (plural) can be performed by persons of any age at any time. On April 6, there will be a wide range of opportunities across the region for people of all ages.  To view the list, visit chaiMitzvahDay.wordpress.com .

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Mitzvah Weekend festivities begin with Social Action Shabbat on Friday night, April 4, to include a tribute to Pete Seeger. The involvement of the TELEM group means there will be activities for children, families, teens and adults. TELEM works to build the next generation of Jewish leaders, civic activists by integrating volunteer service with classroom learning.

The South Area Mitzvah Day is being organized by CHAI South Area Temple Collaboration. ‘Chai,’ the Hebrew word for ‘life,’ is also an acronym for Community, Helping, Action, Involvement, four principles of the Social Action group’s members. The CHAI group represents many temples, Jewish schools and organizations that have joined together across denominations for joint social action activities. The program is sponsored through a grant by the South Area Planning Committee of Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP).

Participating Temples and Organizations include: Temple Adath, Sharon; Temple Beth Abraham, Canton; Temple Beth David of the South Shore, Canton; Temple Beth Emunah, Brockton; Temple B’nai Shalom, Braintree; Temple Israel, Sharon; Temple Kol Tikvah, Sharon; Temple Sinai of Sharon, Sharon; B’nai B’rith Girls (BBG); Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston; The JCRC of Boston/TELEM; Kehillah Schechter Academy, Norwood; Simon Fireman Senior Housing, Randolph.

To view all Mitzvah Day opportunities, visit chaiMitzvahDay.wordpress.com. For a detailed list, click Choose your mitzvah.   For additional info, contact South Area Social Action Reps Claire Winthrop / cmwinthrop@comcast.net or Debby Stein Sharpe / debby@steinsharpe.com  / 617-759-1785.

 -        By Stanley Hurwitz    stanhurwitz@gmail.com / 508-269-0570

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