Dear Friends,

As we enter the Thanksgiving weekend, I imagine many of your hearts are feeling torn with the national events this past week, as is mine.  Even as our kitchens smell delicious with breads and turkeys and pies; even as our families are en route to joining us, or we them, to celebrate the holiday together; even as we gather in our warm homes on this snowy and damp day; many in our world are not in such a place of peace and comfort.

I hope and pray over this Thanksgiving week, we are able to take a few moments to truly offer words of thanksgiving for all that we do have in life: for food and housing, for family and friends, for peace and security.  I hope and pray as well that we take a few moments this week to pray for equality of all people in a land that was established to be the home of the free and brave, a land intended for freedoms of all kinds for all people.

As I shared with our religious school students yesterday, as Jews, we have an obligation to care about those who are being mistreated in our lands, for we know all too well the shoes in which they walk.  Though I was not personally witness to the events in Ferguson, Missouri, I am reminded once again that there is still work to be done - ours is far from a perfect world.  As we gather this week, let us engage in conversation about what we might do to l'takein et ha-olam, to repair this world, even the slightest bit, even as we live comfortably in our communities.  Our students suggested we remember never to judge people by our looks or where we live; that we must treat one another with honor and respect and dignity, always.

So yes, we have much to celebrate, but let us also take the time to be thankful and appreciative.  May this be a week that fills our souls and hearts, and not just our stomachs.  May we be sure to give back, even as we take, and shop, and eat.  And may we pause at least for a moment, to say thank you to our God, who has given us great gifts, each and every day.  

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, ha-tov shimcha u'lcha na-eh l'hodot.  

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, 
Your name is Goodness, and You are worthy of Thanksgiving.

Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Rabbi Debbie Bravo

In Pirke Avot 4:2, we learn that one good deed has the potential to cause more good deeds.  I would like to share the mitzvah that my daughter Sophie, now 8, has been doing for the past three years.  I share this not only because I am proud of her and her friends, but more importantly, because she and I discussed the potential quantity of mitzvot this could bring to the world if others choose to engage in mitzvot as well.

While preparing for Sophie’s 6th birthday, our home was on the market and we had recently emptied it out in order to show it.  I realized, in contemplation of Sophie’s birthday party, that we would get inundated with a bunch of gifts, most of which Sophie would open, play with once, and then leave somewhere in our now neat and empty home. 

So I approached Sophie about the idea of getting a few nice gifts from immediate family and close family friends, but perhaps asking her girlfriends who would be attending her party to bring gifts for donation.  Somewhat to my surprise, Sophie thought this was a great idea.  We discussed together what Sophie might want to do for this mitzvah project.  She was well aware that in my congregation at the time, there was a food pantry.  Many people came to the Temple regularly for food, but they still needed help to purchase fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy. 

So, in her birthday party invitation, we invited people to bring gift cards for grocery stores, as well as canned food, all of which would be donated to the synagogue’s food pantry.  Sophie came with me to the Temple one day and presented the Temple administrator with a box of gift cards.  The gift cards were kept in the Temple office, so when people came for food, we could offer them even a little bit more.  To our surprise, we raised over $400 in gift cards that year, in addition to the bags and bags of food we added to the pantry’s shelves.  People were so generous; they gave much more than they would have for a simple six-year-old birthday gift, which was fantastic.  

So when Sophie’s 7th birthday came around, and I asked her if she wanted to do another mitzvah instead of receiving gifts from her friends, she immediately said yes, and she was excited to do so.  We had since moved to Long Island, so we needed to do some research as to where she wanted to make a donation.  She chose to help people at a nearby shelter.  We reached out to the shelter, asked them what kind of donations would be most helpful, and we were set.  This time, we asked Sophie’s friends to bring gift cards to local grocery stores, drug stores, all-purpose stores and gas stations, in lieu of presents.  

Once again, people were most generous, and we collected nearly $400 in gift cards.  Sophie wanted to come with me to the shelter, to see what it was like and personally deliver her box of gift cards.  The volunteer coordinator at the INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network) was fantastic.  She took Sophie and I on a tour of their facilities, and gave Sophie all kinds of information about what the INN does for the community.  She even sent Sophie her first official thank you note for the donations, which Sophie proudly shared with many.

This year, as Sophie turned 8, it was not a question as to whether or not she would donate for her birthday, but simply which organization would be the recipient of the donations.  She chose to donate games, toys and more to the local Children’s Hospital.  We collected two large bins of appropriate toys for boys and girls who might be in the hospital, and just yesterday, we delivered these bins.  (We waited several months after the birthday party, because Sophie wanted to deliver them personally, and several of her friends really wanted to join her.)  She and her friend proudly carried the bins of toys into the hospital.  Though they could barely walk with these large tubs, they were quite proud of what they had accomplished.

I am certain that Sophie will continue to do Birthday Mitzvot each and every year, but she and I discussed how incredible it would be if others might do the same.  Imagine how many food pantries could receive more donations; how many shelters might get extra help; how many hospitals might have a few more happy children.  Most importantly, imagine how many boys and girls, men and women, might feel good about what they have done to help others who are less fortunate, and to make the world a slightly better place.

Sophie and I invite you to the mitzvah challenge: mitzvah goreret mitzvah – one mitzvah truly has the potential to cause another mitzvah, so share your mitzvah with others, and spread the desire to give.