Tag Archives: Loaves and Fishes

Holiday and School Mitzvahs

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I am discovering that if I don’t write down the little mitzvahs as I do them then they are completely gone from my mind when I come to write about them. I have tried to be better about this but alas I have not been. Here’s what I have for this week.

416) Called someone looking for information about our synagogue to answer her questions.

417) Donated to Loaves and Fishes at the grocery store.

418) Volunteered at a Back to School night event.

419) Purchased a book to bring to DSFO for our new Inspirational Book corner.

420) Helped at synagogue to pick up the candy wrappers left by the kids during the service.

421) Helped picked up the prayer books after the family service ended.

422) Ran into a non Jewish friend of ours the night of our Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Her husband was traveling and she was alone with the two kids, so we invited her to share our holiday meal with us. It was a wonderful meal and we all enjoyed the holiday company.
423) Invited a neighbor and friend to come home with us after synagogue to play and have lunch with us.
424) This seems like such a little thing but I could tell by the expression on the women’s face it was not such a little thing. At synagogue this past weekend, I ran into a woman whom I had met about a year ago at the park. I remembered her name and the fact that she had a dog as well as some other details about her life. I believe by the look on her face she was very touched that I had remembered so much about her. Perhaps in this busy and chaotic world just knowing that someone actually remembers you, your name and something important in your life can really mean alot to someone else.

Independence Week Mitzvahs

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I feel like 300 was a wonderful milestone but still have a long way to go to reach my personal and monetary goal with this project. So here are some more mitzvahs during this Independence Day week.

301) Donated to Loaves and Fishes at grocery store today.

302) Called an acquaintance that I had met many years ago when I came across her card. I wanted to thank her for recommending a book. Ironically, even though she lives in another city the phone number I had still worked. She called me back a couple days later and was thrilled to get my call and find out that I had loved her book recommendation. We discussed the idea of pay it forward. I know that thanking someone even years later is always welcome.

303) Ran into a counselor last week at a garage sale looking for some used books for our summer camp. Packed up a bag of used books from my kids to give to the camp.

304) Donated a raffle item to my networking groups monthly raffle.

I have two mitzvahs this week that have stories and while I am going to count them as mitzvahs I am wondering a bit if they really do count.

305) As the new VP of fundraising at our school, I received over 50 entertainment gift books before school ended as a thank you for our agreeing to do the sale again next year. Before school ended we gave out most of the books to the teachers but I was still left with a box of about 10 books. Today, I brought them to the director of Dress For Success to give to the professional women’s group next week.  I am not sure where this fits in the world of mitzvahs, but it felt like the right thing to do, so I am counting it.

306) Also, the night before last a solicitor came to our door. I cheerfully opened the door and listened to her. I wasn’t prepared to give the initial amount she was looking for but did pledge a smaller amount happily. I understood her organizations mission and was prepared to support it in a smaller way than initially requested. Afterwards, I realized that just being kind and polite and in the end donating when you weren’t planning on it probably counts as a mitzvah. Any thoughts on this one?

Many compliments today…

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Today was an absolutely wonderful day. The weather was gorgeous, the flowers are abundant and I had time today to stop and smell the roses.

205) Visited today with the Rabbi and Rebbetzin.

206) Went to a hardware store to get some supplies. Everyone was helpful from the moment I walked in. I think I had three different people give me incredible service. I asked for the manager at the end of my visit to compliment him and tell him how wonderful it was to shop at the store. He told me they strive for excellent customer service and I told him it showed. I hope people remember to share their compliments and not just criticize others.

207) Donated at the supermarket to Loaves and Fishes, a meals on wheels program for seniors.

I overheard two mitzvahs today too… the first at the grocery store. An older man and his wife were shopping and he was reminding her that there would be a collection this weekend of food for our local food bank through the mail carriers. It made me realize I hadn’t yet gotten my annual donation bag, but could still put some food out. I hate to be sexist but I was so impressed that it was the man reminding the women of this upcoming mitzvah.

Second, at the farmer’s market I overheard a man tell a woman he was passing that she had beautiful eyes, which she did. That got me thinking whether or not it makes a difference who gives a compliment. Some women may feel as if a man is hitting on them when they receive a compliment from him, however, it wouldn’t be taken that way if another women said the same thing. I just felt happy having overheard this man’s compliment to a stranger.