What is 'Mitzvah Day'? | The Jewish Chronicle

What is 'Mitzvah Day'?

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This Sunday, 16th November, is Mitzvah Day, the Jewish community's national day of volunteering. Over 10,000 people are expected to take part in around 250 events across the country involving around 100 different Jewish organisations, from synagogues to charities, from youth movements to Jewish care homes.

The beneficiaries will include Jews and non-Jews, children and elderly people, Jewish -servicemen and community volunteers, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as established charities such as World Jewish Relief, Barnado's and Crisis. Events will be taking place across London as well as in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and elsewhere.

The focus of the day is on giving not money but just a little time. Those who will supporting Mitzvah day this year include celebrities such as Dan Patterson and Maureen Lipman, politicians including Baroness Neuberger, the Government's adviser on volunteering, and Nick Hurd MP, the shadow Charities Minister, and religious leaders such as Dr Jonathan Sacks, Dr Tony Bayfield and Jonathan Wittenberg.