From the Director of Education - February 2000

Shalom! In keeping with this month's theme of a "mitzvah circle," I would like to address the multi-faceted meaning of "mitzvah." The literal meaning of mitzvah is, of course, "commandment." In the Torah, God commands us to practice mitzvot in our daily lives. The beauty of mitzvot, however, is that they can be performed on many different levels. Have you ever noticed how good you feel after fulfilling a mitzvah? How you get more out of it than you put into it?

As I am writing this article, I am putting on the finishing touches to our 5th annual Family Camp! Our theme this year is: "The 3 R's of Jewish Family Life: Respect, Responsibility and Ruach." These can all be viewed as mitzvot in the following way: Respect within one's family, Responsibility towards one another and our world, and Ruach, (spirit), which can be expressed by having a positive outlook on life. All of these are important within our families, communities, and daily activities.

One of my favorite morning prayers is the "modeh ani." In this prayer we say thank you God, for renewing my soul with life this morning. In fact, Judaism commands us to find one hundred things to thank God for every single day! A mitzvah is one way we can say thank you and it gives us an occasion for living life with an attitude of gratitude!

And I want to say "Todah Rabah,"—thank you—to Arthur and Naomi Rosenberg for the very important mitzvah of providing the opportunity for families to learn and grow spiritually in an informal education setting at Family Camp. Without their help, Family Camp would not happen. I would also like to thank the many volunteers who help us out throughout the week within the school, in the classrooms, school office, library, and special projects. May we all be inspired by your generous example to do mitzvot for others.

B'shalom,
Leah Schaer

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