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Bringing more light to the world Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Members of the Temple EmekShalom band together to rebuild a playhouse at Headstart in Ashland. The fourth annual intergenerational Mitzvah Day brought together about a hundred adults and children to "help repair the world" through acts of kindness. Outreach day puts kindness on active duty By SHARI DOWNHILL Temple Emek Shalom members, inspired by Rabbi Marc Sirinsky, reached out to their community Sunday performing myriad mitzvot � or acts of kindness. Though the Torah calls for Jews to take an active part in Tikkun Olam � God�s injunction to assist in "repair of the world" � on a daily basis, Sunday�s efforts were part of the Fourth Annual Intergenerational Mitzvah Day. "I think each day we�re encouraged to bring more light into the world," Sirinski said. "With our efforts, the efforts of other faith and non-faith communities, it brings about a better world. "Our efforts (as part of Mitzvah Day) were today�s piece. Tomorrow we�ll have a different piece we�re supposed to work on. It�s the daily task of our lives. It�s a concerted effort as well as something we do as individuals each day of our lives." "It�s our way of reaching out into the community," said Barbara Hopfinger, event organizer and synagogue social action chairperson. "You have to give back to the community that teaches and nurtures you." About 100 volunteers, 60 children and 40 adults, took part in the day�s efforts, Hopfinger said. Synagogue members� "acts of kindness and world repair" included: Head Start in Ashland � About 15 workers, both children and adults, reconstructed a donated playhouse. Salvation Army, Medford � Adult volunteers prepared and served a baked chicken dinner with the shelter�s homeless. Highway 99 cleanup � Temple Emek Shalom and First Presbyterian Church members cleaned along a two-mile stretch of roadway. Habitat for Humanity, Eagle Point � Six workers prepared the agency�s next Eagle Point project house for painting. Fannie and Meyer Adelman Religious School � Kindergartners and first-graders brought flowers to a local nursing home. Second- and third-graders worked on the school�s building maintenance projects. Sixth-graders worked on the synagogue�s new building site on East Main Street. Fourth- and fifth-graders will volunteer at the Humane Society next weekend. Mitzvah Day is not an official Jewish holiday, but an interpretation of the Torah. There are 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. The Rabbis of the Talmud felt that among the most important, were the mitzvot concerning how people treat one another. Medford Salvation Army attendant Gary Sayles said the baked chicken dinner served to about 23 of the shelter�s homeless by synagogue members lightened the work load for workers there. "It went really well," Sayles said. "It was very well-received. It gave the people who would normally do this a much-needed rest." Hopfinger did more than help orchestrate the Mitzvah Day events. She also joined forces with other volunteers picking up trash along Highway 99. The highway cleanup project is part of a highway adoption program operated through the Oregon Department of Transportation. In addition to taking part in Temple Emek Shalom�s Mitzvah Day activities, synagogue volunteers work with members of First Presbyterian Church of Ashland three times each year to clean the two-mile stretch of roadway. "We�re trying to get involved with other religious groups," Hopfinger said of the multi-denominational volunteer effort. "We�re already talking about what we�re going to do next year. We�ll work again planting flowers in parks ... and cleaning up along the bike path." She said First Presbyterian members also suggested involving the church�s children in next year�s Mitzvah efforts. Citing former Jewish leader Rabbi Alexander Schindler, Hopfinger said, "To be a Jew is to be part of the civilizing and humanizing force of the universe ... it�s incumbent upon us to do the good works all the time.� " Reach reporter Shari Downhill at 776-4463, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.