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May 24, 2002
Dial "M" for mitzvah
ILAN SARAGOSTI SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Kids today are spoiled. The western world is selfish and materialistic.
Evil has taken over since Sept. 11. These ideas, generally thrown
around as fact, are being debunked by a devoted new group of do-gooders
the Mitzvah Group.
An offshoot of Vancouver Talmud Torah high school's popular annual
Mitzvah Day, the Mitzvah Group is a monthly initiative of the Ohel
Yaakov Community Kollel. The concept is simple, yet certainly not
common in this day and age: Volunteers of all ages get together
for a day of helping those in need and generally making Vancouver
and, in turn, the world a better place. Think globally, act locally
is the Mitzvah Group's de facto motto.
"Kindness and helping those in need is an important foundation
of Judaism," said organizer Rabbi Shmuelik Yeshayahu. "Mitzvah
Day was so successful at bringing together four generations of Jews
kids, young adults, adults and the elderly with one
common goal that we knew we had to make it into something more permanent."
Some of the Mitzvah Day activities that were carried out by the
200 or so volunteers that will also be undertaken by the Mitzvah
Group include hospital visits, helping the B.C. Cancer Agency, socializing
with the mentally challenged and cleaning local beaches.
One local woman who is definitely keen on the mitzvah phenomenon
is Robyn Segal of Richmond. Segal and her three children participated
in the last Mitzvah Day and she is convinced that it was an experience
that has changed them all.
"My kids are nine, 13 and 16 so getting them to do anything
together is difficult," said Segal. "They hummed and hawed
at first because it was such a nice day, but they all came along.
By the end of the day, none of us wanted to go home. It was such
a moving experience that we didn't want the day to end."
Especially touching, said Segal, was a visit with an ill, elderly
woman, who turned out to be a Holocaust survivor who had cut all
ties with the Jewish community.
"She was very hostile at first; she said she wanted nothing
to do with Jews. But we persevered and by the end of our visit she
had warmed up considerably and asked us if we could come back and
see her again." Such a hands-on lesson in human nature, morality,
and the Holocaust are invaluable, said Segal, things that cannot
be taught in school.
"Whether the person or organization you're helping is Jewish
is really not important," concluded Segal. "Teaching our
children to make the world a better place is what counts and that's
a hard lesson to teach."
The Mitzvah Group meets on the last Sunday of each month. Their
first event is a hospital visit on May 26. The group will meet at
2389 West 10th Ave. at noon. For more information or to register,
call 604-267-7060 or go to www.mitzvahday.ca.
Ilan Saragosti is a filmmaker and writer living in
Vancouver.
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