A wonderful interfaith afternoon to mark Mitzvah Day 2021
Our Mitzvah Day this year was filled with fun, friendship – and cake!
Mitzvah Day is an annual Jewish-led initiative in which people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds, volunteer side-by-side, building longstanding, genuine relationships. Each year, in November, over 40,000 people around the world, come together to give time, not money, to make a difference to the community around us. Mitzvah Day introduces people to social action, to their neighbours and to local charities, setting up projects, which address real needs.
On Sunday we were delighted to be joined by our good friends from the local Dialogue Society – a charity founded by British Muslims of Turkish origin with the purpose of advancing social cohesion by connecting communities, empowering people to engage and contributing to the development of ideas on dialogue and community building.
As well as marking Mitzvah Day, it was also a great way to wrap up Interfaith Week – a week with the aims to strengthen good inter faith relations at all levels.
After a brief introduction from Rabbi René we dvided into three groups. The families with young children made fat balls and other treats for local birds, and we hung some of these in our Kehillah Garden:
Another group visited the cemetery in Long Ditton, which has a small Jewish section – and helped to clear leaves and cut back foliage:
And the third group went to the local park for some litter picking;
And of course no Jewish / Muslim interfaith event would be complete without copious quantities of food – in this case, tea and cake. And, with a nod to the interfaith nature of the event, this included some mince pies!
Speaking after the event Rabbi René said “What a wonderful afternoon! It was a real privilege to spend more time with our friends from the local Dialogue society – and our projects, although humble, help to make the world a better place – which is what Mitzvah Day is all about”.