Mitzvah day

Mitzvah Day relocates

Anna Sheinman — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:49:10 +0100

Mitzvah Day is moving to JW3, the new Jewish cultural centre in London’s Finchley Road.

It will transfer next month from JHub in West Hampstead to the JW3 building, which will open officially in September. Mitzvah Day head Laura Marks said the move “represents our next stage of growth”. The Union of Jewish Students also has its offices on the site.

Mitzvah Day 2012

Sandy Rashty — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:00:23 +0000

Cameron, Clegg and Miliband vote for Mitzvah Day

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:27:03 +0000

The three main party leaders have encouraged more community members to join the 20,000-plus committed to doing good deeds on Mitzvah Day on November 18.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the day was “a fantastic example of people coming together for the good of their community, which is why last year I was pleased to present them [Mitzvah Day] with a Big Society Award.

“This year Mitzvah day is forming part of A Year of Service, highlighting the many community initiatives put on by people of all faiths.

“This great idea is joining together communities right across the UK.”

Deputy PM Nick Clegg said the day was “inspirational”, reflecting the best of Jewish values as people of all faiths worked side by side to make a difference in their local communities.

“Congratulations on a seventh fantastic year of tree planting, manning soup kitchens, befriending, cleaning up, making, baking and doing — lending a helping hand and raising a smile among those who need it most.”

Labour Leader Ed Miliband said Mitzvah Day was a prime example of the kind of active community spirit he wanted to see across the UK. “It’s through thousands of small actions that we build our families and our communities.”

Succot's spirit of thanksgiving

John Sentamu — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:35:56 +0100

"We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the ground…" This is the time of year when succahs are built, lulavs are waved and, in churches and schools across the country, tins of baked beans and other produce are collected and distributed. What a fantastic time of celebration!

This year, the festivals of Succot and Harvest are being celebrated together in a special way: 2012 has been designated "A Year of Service", with support from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Building on the inspiring work of Mitzvah Day, different religious communities in Britain have been encouraged to join together in acts of service connected with special days in their religious calendars. Zoroastrians joined Buddhists, Baha'is and others in a project for the elderly on their spring festival of Nowruz.

Different religious communities joined mosques during Ramadan this summer running community iftars (fast-breaking meals) and making food hampers for the hungry. And now at this joint occasion of Harvest and Succot, Jewish and Christian communities are working together on projects relating to our shared tradition of giving food to the hungry.

Speaking as an Archbishop in the Church of England, I find that our festival of harvest has come in for some criticism. Some people argue that it is merely a romantic Victorian invention that has no meaning for city folk. Today's urban believers rarely, if ever, "plough the fields and scatter" but rather click on a picture of a sliced loaf online before it is delivered to their door in a plastic bag. In a context like this, looking as a Christian to the Jewish celebration of Succot can be very helpful.

The way that Succot is celebrated, literally and structurally, builds thanksgiving into the families and communities who celebrate this "season of our rejoicing". It strengthens my conviction as a Christian that a feast of thanksgiving has a rightful and proper place in our calendar, whatever its particular, modern origins in the church.

When I see a succah in someone's garden or on their balcony, I am reminded that, however distant from our harvest we think we are, and however much we take for granted the food on our tables, we are still very fragile. Like the succah, we are more affected by the weather and by nature than we sometimes care to admit. I am very aware, for example, of the difficult times that many of our farmers are having this year and how we need to support them.

Even with our fragility, the waving of the lulav and etrog reminds us that "the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it". As they are waved and blessings are said in all directions, I am encouraged to trust and not to be afraid.

For me, there is huge value in the sharing of our heritage of faith. Our deep roots together need to be cherished and explored, and the many people and organisations who help us with this are to be commended and supported, such as the Council of Christians and Jews. What is doubly encouraging is when Jewish and Christian communities up and down the country not just celebrate together but also work together for the common good of all, as this special "Year of Service" is encouraging us to do.

If this is happening in your community, then I urge you to join in. If not, then maybe it is something that you could think about next year? By joining in, we can not only share the good deed but we can build a stronger understanding of each other and create stronger communities for the future.

In any case, may I wish readers of the Jewish Chronicle Chag Sameach!

Mitzvah Day signs up 100 for eighth day of good deeds

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:08:53 +0100

One-hundred organisations have already signed up to participate in the eighth Mitzvah Day of good deeds on November 18.

Synagogues, youth and student groups, schools, interfaith organisations and businesses will be taking part in the community’s biggest day of social action.

For 2012, Mitzvah Day is part of A Year of Service, a government-backed initiative encouraging people of all faiths to volunteer together. An increasing number of Mitzvah Day projects involve Jews working alongside a wide range of other faith organisations. There will be at least 40 multifaith ventures.

Offices can take part on the preceding Friday (November 16), through the associated Give Away Your Lunch, designed to support the homeless.Employees will be encouraged to buy extra food for distribution by charities.
Mitzvah Day projects range from Ilford Jewish Primary pupils collecting toys for Camp Simcha to the Jersey community tracking down Judaica for use in former Soviet Union countries.

Hindus withdraw from a Year of Service

Jessica Elgot — Thu, 31 May 2012 14:39:54 +0100

A Hindu social action group has pulled out of an interfaith volunteering venture because of concerns over a £65,000 government allocation to Mitzvah Day, which is administering it.

Leaders of the Hindu equivalent — Sewa Day — claim requests for a breakdown of the £30,000 and £35,000 allocated by the Cabinet Office and the Department of Communities and Local Government towards A Year of Service have been stonewalled.

The project involves nine faith communities working together on short-term volunteering schemes. Mitzvah Day — founded by Board of Deputies vice-president Laura Marks — was appointed to oversee A Year of Service because of its expertise in co-ordinating volunteering activities.

Sewa Day chair Arup Ganguly said repeated requests had been made to establish how the £65,000 would be spent and whether Sewa Day could apply for any of the money. “For a number of months, we have been seeking clarity but we have been stonewalled and are extremely disappointed that we have still not received any financial breakdown for this initiative —— £65,000 is a lot of money in these austere times.

“The project does need funding. But we were never told this funding existed. One of my community leaders tripped over it when he saw it referred to in a letter from his MP. I was told I was not privy to the information. But we are not talking about the Ministry of Defence here. This is public money.”

Ms Marks insisted that the money was solely for the administration of A Year of Service. “It will pay for staff administration time, monitoring, a website, IT support, basic infrastructure. We are not allowed to use it for our own Mitzvah Day activities and other groups cannot apply for it.”

She was “extremely sorry” at the withdrawal of Sewa Day. “Like Sewa Day, Mitzvah Day operates on full transparency and accountability and accounts are available through the Charities Commission. We hope that the British Hindu community — such a significant presence in local communities and sharing our core values of giving and doing good works — will embrace the unique opportunity that A Year of Service offers for interfaith social action during this Jubilee year.”

The funding issue was also raised in a Parliamentary question by Brent North MP Barry Gardiner. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude responded that the money was to “fund an administrator role for the Year of Service programme”.

A DCLG spokesman explained that it had been made “quite clear that the grant was to allow Mitzvah Day to take on the central admin and promotional role for the whole of the programme, working with all participating faith communities and benefiting them all.

“DCLG has always replied promptly to all private communications from Sewa Day. We are continuing work with all the other faith groups involved in A Year of Service to ensure it is a success and very much hope that British Hindus will play a part in that.”

Mitzvah Day's Laura Marks sweeps the Board of Deputies poll

Simon Rocker — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:25:19 +0100

The head of a campaign to encourage more women into Jewish leadership roles set the perfect example on Sunday when she topped the poll for vice-president of the Board of Deputies. Laura Marks, founder of the cross-communal social action event Mitzvah Day, was elected senior vice-president - just four months after becoming a deputy.

The other two vice-presidential positions were secured by Alex Brummer, award-winning Daily Mail City editor and vice-chair of the Board's international division, and senior vice-president for the past triennial, Jonathan Arkush.

They defeated Jerry Lewis, who lost his bid for re-election as vice-president, and family solicitor Denise Lester, in an election in which more than 80 per cent of deputies voted.

Ms Marks, who represents the Movement for Reform Judaism and is the first non-Orthodox officer for more than a decade, said she was "amazed, honoured, flattered" by the result.

Although "a new girl" at the Board, she said that she believed the "work I do for the wider community stood me in better stead than I reckoned.

"And it's gratifying because I couldn't have got through on a Progressive-only vote. The fact that the support base must have been wider is important for the community and for the Board."

When one Orthodox deputy, Anthony Spencer of Borehamwood Synagogue, asked during hustings how she could defend Jewish tradition as a Reform member, he was loudly heckled from the floor. In contrast, Ms Marks was widely applauded when she declared: "I firmly believe…that the Board of Deputies represents all Jews in this country."

Board president Vivian Wineman and treasurer Laurence Brass had already succeeded in winning second terms unopposed.

Under the single transferable vote system used, each deputy was allowed to put down two names, with candidates requiring 55 votes to gain election. After first preferences were counted, Ms Marks had 65 votes and Mr Brummer 56, followed by Mr Arkush with 48, Mr Lewis, 36, and Ms Lester, 17. When second choices in the next round were added, Mr Arkush rose to 57, ahead of Mr Lewis on 48.

Mr Brummer said: "It is a terrific new team, the Board has been refreshed."

Mr Arkush - who along with Mr Brass has been mooted as a contender for the presidency in three years' time - said: "I am very pleased and gratified we have got such a team. I believe that the vote for me constituted a strong endorsement." Three months ago he had unleashed controversy after a strong attack on the Jewish Leadership Council, only to issue an apology after a backlash against the Board.

But Mr Arkush reconfirmed that he could not see how an organisation could be accountable it if were unelected. "I said it was therefore unacceptable [for the JLC] to assume political leadership of our community. I still believe that to be the case," he said.

While he supported the JLC's role as a strategic agency, he remained concerned that it should "stick to its remit"; it was a council of people including some leaders, not "the Jewish leadership, so I continue to believe it should change its name".

Shake-up in women's role

Jessica Elgot — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:07:56 +0100

Change is needed to shake up Jewish organisations which court their potential board members on the golf course, to allow women better access to lay leadership.

That was the audience consensus at open meetings organised by the Commission on Women in Jewish Leadership. Around 150 people attended the meetings in London and Manchester.

Mitzvah Day founder Laura Marks, who is heading the commission for the JLC, said that many people in the Manchester meeting had commented that in the regions, women were more likely to step up into senior leadership roles - to combat young people leaving for London.

But members of both audiences differed when it came to how to implement practical change.

A number of contributors in London said they were concerned that halachah was often used an excuse to exempt women from significant roles, and urged support from rabbis.

In Manchester, Danielle Grant, who directs a professional corporate leadership firm, suggested an online portal for women who were seeking to get involved in the community.

Ms Marks said she was "delighted that so many awe-inspiring women and men turned out to make their voices heard."

The biggest mitzvah

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:20:22 +0000

A northern interfaith initiative has won the JC's Mitzvah Day competition.

Entrants were asked to explain why their particular project had made a significant impact. The judging panel, including Hertsmere MP James Clappison, selected the Faith Network 4 Manchester submission from a shortlist of nine.

FN4M's Growing Faith in Community works with offenders and volunteers to grow fruit and vegetables and nurtures hens, geese and ducks for eggs for food projects for the homeless and vulnerable. The group says Mitzvah Day has become the focal point of the project "at the end of the growing season, when we clean and store tools and settle our plot down for the winter.

"This year, we were especially grateful for the small group who peeled away to clear the plot of an old man with cancer. We also enjoyed taking children to meet our neighbours at the EST Donkey Centre, who provide the manure that keeps our soil fertile."

The Birmingham community was runner-up for its Knit and Natter group, which produced blankets for Jews in Ukraine.

Mitzvah Day's magic mix

Jessica Elgot — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:18:57 +0000

Rabbis, archbishops and assorted clergy decorated cakes, made mince pies and organised the winter stores for homeless charity Providence Row, as a follow-up to last month's Mitzvah Day.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as well as the heads of the Reform, Liberal, Spanish and Portuguese and Masorti Jewish movements, volunteered at the Tower Hamlets charity following a meeting of the Council of Christians and Jews.

Others present included CCJ chief executive David Gifford and British head of the Catholic church, Archbishop Vincent Nichols.

Sixth formers from City of London Girls' and Boys' schools also helped out delivering dry goods they collected for the charity as part of Mitzvah Day.

Mixing cupcake icing for the opening of Providence Row's new building, Archbishop Williams said: "It is important to be here, doing something for others."

Mitzvah Day director Laura Marks, who received the Big Society award from Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street this week, said: "We want to start a long relationship between the school and the charity."

Reform president Rabbi Tony Bayfield helped to tidy the stock-room, full of donated tins, rice and pasta. He said: "It was good to come here with the CCJ, We have common values we agree on, that we serve God by helping others."

Year 13 pupil Joe Gamse said: "The school's Christian and Jewish societies collected food as a joint initiative. Coming here is important as it's easy to forget how much of an impact you can have."

Pam Orchard, chief executive of Providence Row, said the work done by the visitors had been "really useful work. But it also gives a flavour of the sort of things we do with our clients."