Mitzvah Day '09

For Mitzvah Day this year RSY-Netzer communities all around the country took part in a variety of different projects, some with the rest of their synagogue, and some run purely by the youth.

For those who don't know, Mitzvah Day is an international day of Jews doing good deeds, and it was set up by an RSY-Netzer mum!  For more details about what Mitzvah Day is and does take a look at their website.

We want to collect reports of everything that anyone from RSY-Netzer did for Mitzvah Day within their community this year so that we can celebrate the achievements of everybody in RSY, whether they are 10 or 25, but we need your help.  If your community did something and nobody has written to us about it yet to put up then either send a report to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or just add it as a comment at the bottom of the page.

Mitzvah Day at the Sternberg Centre

On Sunday 15th November as part of an international day of good deed doing RSY-Netzer held a mini-fesitval of mitzvot, joint with LJY-Netzer and Noam. There were three main projects going on in all corners of the old Akiva Hall. One was part of Blue Peter's operation smile which entailed cutting up old t-shirts in order to turn them into hospital gowns to send to India to help save hospitals much needed money. In another corner participants were making their own alphabet books to send to Ghana in order to help teach impoverished children English. The final project was the, seemingly everlasting, sorting of clothes for RenéCassin, sports kits for Kit Aid, and non-perishable food for Homeless Action Barnet; all to be packed up and delivered to refugees in detention centers who are awaiting deportation or entrance into this country, communities in Africa in need of sports kit and equipment, and local homeless shelters respectively. (The fourth corner of the room was saved for a very packed refreshments table-this corner always seemed to be the most crowded).

More than 60 people turned up to join in with the various projects, with a mix of RSY-Netzer, LJY-Netzer and Noam chanichim and madrichim making up the majority, and 10 people from a local mosque and a local church also joining us for the day.  It's the first time that the three movements have joined together for mitzvah day, and hopefully there will be many more years of joint projects to come.

Before we embarked on any of these good deeds the three movements had planned and ran an activity in which all the volunteers looked at how we spend our lives in the modern world and the true meaning of a mitzvah. It was certainly enjoyable but i know it made everyone think slightly more deeply about the meaning of the day. What made the day really special was the unique oppurtunity some of us were given to meet, talk to, and perform mitzvot with a group of teenagers from a Christian youth movement based in a parish in Mill Hill and a group of Muslims who had come down from the Hendon Mosque. It was fascinating talking to them and finding out more about the way volunteering is approached in their communities.
The 60 odd people who volunteered during the afternoon had a great time time and definitely achieved a great deal of satisfaction with the knowledge that just one Sunday afternoon's work could a do so much to help those who dont have as much as us. A lovely sense of community spirit was fostered during the afternoon- I think this was the natural product of so many willing volunteers in a single room working hard to help other people half way around the world whom they had never even met and working actively to 'Tikun the Olam'. Overall the afternoon was a huge success. Role on RSY-Netzer's participation in Mitzvah Day 2010!

Add your Mitzvah day report; either comment or send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it