It is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Caine
killed his brother, and God asked him where Abel was. His evasive
reply was,
”
Am I my brother’s keeper?
”
It is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Caine killed his brother, and God asked him where Abel was. His evasive reply was, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The answer to that question resonates throughout the history of Judaism: Yes! The doctrine of “mitzvah” teaches that Jews have a commandment from God to do good works. Each year temples, synagogues, and congregations set aside a Mitzvah Day to go out into the community and make a difference in the world around them.
Last Sunday, Congregation Emeth, South County’s Reform Jewish Community, celebrated this year’s Mitzvah Day with “Tikkun Olam” (Heal the World Projects). The kick-off was at Morgan Hill’s Paradise Valley Elementary School cafeteria. Members of Emeth, friends, and Jews from neighboring communities chose from a varied list of projects intended to serve the poor or our environment selected by the congregation’s Social Action Committee.
Daniel Freiberg is a thirteen year old student at Morgan Hill’s Britton Junior High School. He lives near Llagas Creek and had been noticing how much garbage and litter was accumulating within and along its banks. He used the community service project required for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah to organize a Clean the Creek project, supervising dozens of volunteers (including a Webelow den from Gilroy) to collect trash from Edmundson Avenue to the western end of LaCrosse Drive.
Another project, headed up by Morgan Hill resident Michael Heil, is concerned with “Fair Traded” commodities like coffee, tea and chocolate. Most of these products are traded by giant corporations which exploit the small farmers and agricultural workers in developing countries.
But there is an alternative way of acquiring these products which cuts the profits of “middlemen” and pays a fairer amount to the small producers. Sunday morning saw participants in Mitzvah Day discussing this issue and writing letters to local merchants making them aware that purchasing Fair Traded products would result in very little additional cost to the consumer while giving much greater income to the poor farmers in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Many other community service activities were available:
• Figure your ecological footprint: Participants who brought their utility bills were able to calculate how “lightly” their households live on planet earth and learned ways to lessen their impact.
• A collection was taken of blankets, towels, kitty litter and pet food to donate to animal shelters.
• A workshop on Junk Mail/Paper Trails taught how to get removed from mass mailing lists and reduce household paper use.
• A presenter discussed socially responsible investments and gave ideas for appropriate portfolios.
• Representatives from the Council on the Environment and Jewish Life sold inexpensive energy-saving devices and phone service from an ecologically-responsible service provider.
Sunday’s Mitzvah Day was an opportunity for Congregation Emeth to live out God’s commandment to spread good works among their neighbors and help repair the world.
For more information about any of these topics call 847-4111.
