The Store!

Saving a LIfe

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:00:40 -0800

Just last month we entered a new Jewish year and once again faced our obligation to take a personal inventory. We reflected on the year gone by and celebrated our achievements while also acknowledging our shortcomings. During the process of t’shuva, we sought forgiveness for the times we may have “missed the mark” and promised not to make the same mistakes in the coming year. We made our peace with God and we also made our peace with people.

Once again, we applied this same process to take an objective look at the got mitzvot? program. We examined both the successes and flaws experienced during the past year in the hope that we may provide an improved program for 5770. Based on feedback from our students, parents, clergy and staff, we feel our greatest accomplishments were providing our kids tangible opportunities to fulfill the mitzvot we highlighted during the year. We formed strong ties with local philanthropies in our area including Union Station, Foothill Unity Center, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, City of Hope, Pasadena Fire Department, Park Marino Retirement Facility, and the Pasadena Boys and Girls Club.

We also increased our participation with organizations providing aid to the needy in Israel such as the Jewish National Fund, A Package from Home, the Israel National Therapeutic Riding Association, Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchen and Clara Hammer, the Chicken Lady of Jerusalem.

Additionally, we sought to create global connections by supporting organizations aiding Jewish and non-Jewish people in Gambia, Darfur, and Guatemala through donations to Jewish World Watch, Maya Works, and the Good People Fund. Thus by the end of 5769, our students had reached out to our community to collect over $10,000 in supplies and money that was donated to these causes. Wow! For this we need to thank everyone who helped us by donating money or items, including Islands Restaurants.

We would also like to pay special tribute to the benefactors of the got mitzvot? Program, Marshall and Francine Katz, whose generosity is responsible for the continuation of our program.

The vision of got mitzvot? for the coming year continues to be putting mitzvot into action. The program involves new and innovative means to educate and motivate families to do mitzvot that will assist our local community. At the Religious School each class will select a mitzvah to explore study and perform for the school year. On a monthly basis the students will assist amutot (non-profit organizations) in the area with this mitzvah in mind. Classroom activities will include collecting and donating resources, making needed items, fundraising, sending letters and cards, and creating gift baskets. Hopefully, each class will visit one of the amutot and volunteer their time at the site or representatives from the amutot will travel to our classrooms to provide our students a hands-on opportunity to help. In this way our children will actively participate in doing mitzvot to achieve Tikkun Olam. Students and staff will also be required to reflect on their work and express through journaling, music, art, dance and discussion the value of doing these community service projects and how they can incorporate the lessons learned into their lives on a daily basis.

For the month of Tishri and Heshvan, the mitzvah we are featuring is Pikuach Nefesh, Saving a Life. Kita Gimel will study this mitzvah for the entire year. The students have already begun by sponsoring a collection of nails to be donated to Habitat for Humanity who will use them to build houses for qualifying low-income families. They will also be decorating keepot for the Pediatric unit at City of Hope where their teacher Rabbi Olga Bluman is a chaplain.

Origins Of The Mitzvah

The mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh teaches us that Jews have an obligation to save another person’s life, both in the literal and figurative way. It is rooted in a principle of halakhah (Jewish Law), Pikuach Nefesh which literally means saving a soul. Protecting a human life is a major Jewish obligation. Our rabbis learned this lesson from two different places in the Torah. First from Leviticus 19:16, which says, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” In a midrashic collection, Sifra, we are taught “Do not watch without doing something when your neighbor’s blood is shed.”

Help us to perform the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh by donating boxes of 16D common nails to the Gimel Class by November 18. The nails will be donated to Habitat for Humanity who will use them to build houses for qualifying low-income families.

Helping the Less Fortunate

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 15:07:03 -0800

Our school has several projects in the works this year that will focus on the needs of those less fortunate. We fully understand that with all of the financial problems facing our nation and impacting everyone, our families will be much more vigilant when it comes to spending extra dollars. So, we ask you to help us out with these projects only if it is within your means and only if it causes you no additional stress.

We have agreed to adopt a needy family for the holidays. This family has a child being treated at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Each family member’s name, age, sizes and special requests are noted on the chart below. There are five children and one adult. Each of four weekday classes will be responsible for one child and the staff will be responsible for Sabina, the mom. We would be very appreciative if you could participate by bringing only brand new items to the Religious School by December 16 so that we can wrap everything at our Mitzvah Maccabiah. Please label the item with the specific family member’s name.

We are also collecting new toys, which will be handed out at Union Station’s annual Christmas in the Park celebration for the homeless. Please drop them off in the got mitzvot? corner in the Temple Lobby by December 18.

We also invite you to join us on December 25 to help serve dinner to the homeless in Pasadena’s Central Park. Volunteers are expected to arrive by 9:30 AM. Wear your got mitzvot? tees! This event is hosted by Union Station.

Adar I & II: Saving Human Life

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 12:00:47 -0700

On March 20 and 21 we will enjoy the festival of Purim. It is a holiday that is known for its pageantry, frivolity, and generosity to friends and the needy. But at the core of this celebration is the profound reversal of fortune when the Jewish community of Persia was rescued by the heroic intervention of Esther and Mordecai. It seems appropriate then to dedicate the months of Adar I & II to an examination of the mitzvah, Pikuach Nefesh, saving human life.

Jews have an obligation to save another person. It is rooted in a principle of halakhah (Jewish Law) called Pikuach Nefesh, saving a soul. Protecting a human life is a major Jewish obligation. Our rabbis learned this lesson from two different places in the Torah. First from Leviticus 19.16, which says, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” In a midrashic collection, Sifra, we are taught “Do not watch without doing something when your neighbor’s blood is shed. If you see someone in danger of drowning in the river, being carried away by wild beasts, or being attacked by robbers, you must try to rescue that person.” (Leviticus 19.16) The second verse, Leviticus 18.5, reads: “You shall keep My laws and My rules, you shall act on them, you shall live by them.” The key words here are “live by them.” In the Talmud we are told, “You shall live by them, but you shall not die because of them.” (Yoma 85a) This teaches a second meaning to Pikuach Nefesh, that one may abandon most mitzvot in order to save a life.

Kita Gimel adopted the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh to learn about and put into action for this year. They also selected this mitzvah as the theme of the Shabbat Service they led on February 22, 2008 for the whole congregation. Below are the “mini-sermons” each child wrote and read aloud about Pikuach Nefesh:

Shabbat Shalom! Kita Gimel welcomes you to our Shabbat Service. During this year our class has been learning about the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh and it is the got mitzvot? mitzvah featured for this month. In Judaism, Pikuach Nefesh supercedes virtually all Jewish law, including Shabbat. Tonight, our service will focus on this theme. We pay tribute to ordinary people doing extraordinary things in our world by performing Pikuach Nefesh with the hope that all of us will seek ways to do the same.

Jacobo: “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor,” is the quote from the Talmud that teaches us to do the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh, save human life. Ghandi took these words seriously when he saved his people’s lives by using peaceful methods instead of violent ones. This is called civil disobedience. He was inspired by my favorite writer Henry David Thoreau who wrote his famous essay on civil disobedience. Do any of you know who else he inspired, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr? Ghandi was an ordinary person who became very famous and respected because he understood the importance of doing the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh. Right now, the Israeli’s and Palestinians are fighting using violence, maybe they could learn from the legacy of Ghandi and also do the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh.

Maia: Pikuach Nefesh is not about being a hero. It’s about saving lives because it’s the right thing to do. A person I admire for doing the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh is a woman named Hannah Senesh. At the end of 1942, she joined a group of parachutists organized by the Haganah to rescue Allied prisoners of war and organized Jewish resistance. At the age of 18, during one of these operations she was captured, tortured and eventually executed because she would not reveal any information. She did this not because she was trying to be a hero but because she understood the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh applied to her as well and if she could save lives than that was the right thing to do. We honor her memory this evening.

Alec: I admire the courage of doctors because they save lives. Doctors are doing the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh around the world now. For example, saving people who have been in car crashes and saving people who need transplants or surgeries. I may not be a doctor, but I can do the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh by helping people in danger by knowing to call 911 and following all of the other mitzvot. If I can do Pikuach Nefesh, so can you!

Maya: When we think of people who save lives, we often think of firefighters, police, and soldiers. But there are many more, and I will be talking about scientists. When people have the flu, they probably take some type of medicine. But what if there was no Tylenol or Advil? Many people would die or become very sick. Scientists are discovering and making many new medicines each day, which save lots of lives. Even though I am not a scientist, I can make sure my family and I are healthy, and if we become sick, have medicine. I think scientists are very important and are an example of people who do Pikuach Nefesh for a living.

David: There is a story in the Talmud that creates lots of confusion over how to explain the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh. It goes like this: two men are traveling through the desert. One man has a pitcher of water. There is not enough water for both men to survive, and if they share the water they both will die. If one man drinks he will live but his comrade will die. This brings around the question, what happens if you can only save your life or some one else’s? And, whose life is more important? Rabbi Ben Petura taught it is not fair to look on while your friend dies so you should do the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh , which in this case means both men should drink and perish together. But Rabbi Akiva taught that your life is more important than anybody else’s. So you should take the water and leave your comrade behind. But the Torah states that you shall not murder, and to me, leaving your friend behind is basically murder, which is not Pikuach Nefesh. It seems if these two men knew that they were traveling through the desert than the true way to do Pikuach Nefesh is to pack a lot of water!

Grant: Doctors do the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh on a regular basis. In Children’s Hospital Los Angeles many doctors are saving the lives of children and young teens who have cancer. Without these doctors kids wouldn’t have the opportunity to survive this horrible sickness. I may not be a doctor, but I can do Pikuach Nefesh by making good choices and staying healthy. I can also help kids out in the world by giving money to hospitals. Doctors are very important people.

Andres: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did Pikuach Nefesh. He did this commandment by not sending African Americans to fight in violent ways to get equal rights from the American government. Instead he told them to use peaceful methods like marching. He liked Ghandi’s ideas who also did Pikuach Nefesh. They both didn’t want people to die. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. started out like an ordinary person and changed many lives. We can help save lives by calling 911 when someone is in trouble or speaking out when someone needs help. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lost his life so that we can have a better world. We can honor his memory by doing the mitzvah Pikuach Nefesh when needed ourselves.

Sarah: “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor” is the verse from the Torah that explains the Hebrew words, Pikuach Nefesh, which mean saving a human soul. If you know someone that is in serious danger don’t just stand by, help them. Even if it’s someone different than you, someone of a different race, religion or gender. We are commanded to help them all. There are many people in need of help now all around the world and even right here in our own neighborhood. Don’t just stand around and do nothing. Here are a few things you can start doing now that will make a difference. You can participate in blood drives and consider organ donation. You can donate cell phones in working condition that you may no longer need and we will take them to the local Sherriff’s Department. They are given to women in shelters who are victims of abuse to use in case of emergency since 911 can be reached on all phones even if they don’t have a service plan. Also, car seats save kids’ lives. Donate your used car seats to organizations that will get them to parents in need to keep their kids safe. People all over the world need your help today. Get started doing Pikuach Nefesh now!

Ben: When you hear the word soldier you think a man shooting guns in wars working for the government, right? Wrong! People in the US military are fighting to protect our country. Soldiers aren’t drafted today. They fight of their own free will. Soldiers are doing one of the highest commandments of all, Pikuach Nefesh. Above all, they fight to keep us safe. They might think that the wars are wrong but they put their life on the line. You can make a difference too. You don’t have to be a hero to save a life. Tonight let’s remember the soldiers who have lost their lives to help us and the ones still fighting for us now.

Roxanna: My friends Sarah and Amelia performed the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh. They wrote a letter to Congressman Adam Schiff about stopping the genocide in Darfur. They got many people involved and even Adam Schiff wrote back to them. What this taught me, and I hope will teach you too, is don’t be afraid to get other people involved with problems in our world. I hope this message will get us a step closer to peace.

Amelia: My sister Sarah and I performed the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh by writing a letter to Congressman Adam Schiff. The letter was published in the Pasadena Star News on January 14, 2007. Here is the contents of that letter:

We are ordinary kids from Pasadena who think that the US government isn’t doing enough to help the civilians in Darfur. Although we’re only in elementary school, we still care, and we would like to inform people about how much of a difference they can make. Since 2003, about 400,000 black African muslims from Southern Darfur have been killed by the Sudanese militia. Also, about 2.5 million Southern Darfurians have been pushed out of their homes. They and their belongings are now in refugee camps scattered throughout Darfur and Chad. They don’t have enough food or water, and many of them are very sick. We would like our federal government to pay more attention to the suffering of the people of Darfur. A lot of people can help in different ways, including asking the President of the United States and the Congress to act and by donating money to organizations that are helping Darfur. One of them is called Save Darfur and can be reached at the web site www.savedarfur.org. Another is Help Darfur Now at www.helpdarfurnow.org. A third group is Amnesty International at www.takeaction.amnestyusa.org.

Thank you.

Carmela: A man who survived World War II and a survivor of the Holocaust, decided that it was more important for his students to reach safety than for him to go before them. His name was Liviu Librescu and he was a Professor at Virginia Tech who sadly died last year in the school shooting that took place. Just as he did, many police officers put their lives on the line all the time. Police Officers are courageous people who choose to be in danger so others won’t have to. I may not be a police officer and have not been through a life or death situation, but I can help others by doing even the simplest of deeds that would save human life. Just by calling 911 or telling an adult if someone is in danger are two ways children my age can help. There are many ways children like me can do Pikuach Nefesh and so can you.

Shayna: Oscar Schindler was an ordinary man, a non-Jew, who followed the commandment of Pikuach Nefesh, and became known as a “righteous gentile.” He out-smarted Hitler and the Nazis to save Jews from the gas chambers during World War II. Schindler once said, “I couldn’t just stand by and see people destroyed. I did what I could. What I had to do, what my heart told me I must do. That’s all there is to it. Really, nothing more.” Through his actions, Schindler followed the commandment of Pikuach Nefesh. Millions of Jews died in the Holocaust but Schindler’s Jews, who he referred to as “my children” survived because of him. Today, there are more than 7,000 descendents of the Schindler-Jews living in the U.S., Europe, and Israel. When he died in 1974, he was buried in Jerusalem as he had wanted. Oscar Schindler is a hero who has erned the everlasting gratitude of Jews throughout the world. I hope we can all learn from his remarkable example.

Dylan: Pikuach Nefesh, the act of saving a human life, is one of the highest mitzvot you can do. This includes not only saving someone in immediate danger, but also stopping a potential disaster. Right now in Darfur immediate help is needed. Have you ever thought that in this society people are being killed everyday because of their race? In Africa, men, women, and children are being violated and killed everyday. Many have fled to refugee camps, but even these people are in danger. To cook their food, the women need to go out to collect firewood, where often they are abducted and killed. Here at PJTC, we helped raise money to buy solar cookers for these women so they can stay in relative safety in the camps. The whole LBS Religious School also decorated pot holders to send to use with the solar cookers. But this is not enough, we can and should do more if we are to do the mitzvah of Pikuach Nefesh. Our class has adopted The Backpack Project as our mitzvah project for this year and we are asking for your help. This project was created so that hungry and frightened children in a refugee camp in Chad could attend schools run by the International Rescue Committee in partnership with Jewish World Watch. Filled with shoes, books, school supplies, soap and toothpaste the backpack allows each child to make the most of school under the most difficult of circumstances. Each backpack also contains something you can’t see or touch, but is essential to their well being: hope! There are envelopes available in the lobby and we hope you will take one home with you. We ask you to return it with a $36 donation that will provide one child with a backpack. This is your opportunity to do Pikuach Nefesh!

Let’s heed the words of wisdom offered by these children and help them do Pikuach Nefesh by supporting the Backpack Project. Donation envelopes are located in the lobby of the Synagogue or you can mail or bring checks to the Religious School Office.

We would appreciate having the congregation share their reflections on performing the mitzvot we will feature this month. Please place your reflections in the box located in the Temple lobby, or you now can e-mail your responses directly to dsinger@pjtc.net. Working together through the got mitzvot? program we are creating the nitzotzot (sparks) needed to ignite the world’s social conscience and make a difference within our own community. Thank you for your help.

Guarding the Earth

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:00:53 -0800

The mitzvah we will highlight for the month of Shevat is Shomrei Adamah, “Guarding the Earth.” It is written in the Talmud, “In the hour when the Holy One created the first human being, God took the person before all the trees of the garden of Eden, and said to the person: “See my works, how fine and excellent they are! Now all that I have created, for you have I created. Think upon this, and do not corrupt and desolate my world: for if you corrupt it, there is no one to set it right after you.” (Kohelet Rabbah 7:28) This passage implies we have been given the Earth for safekeeping. We are the caretakers and protectors who are responsible for handing it down to successive generations. We dare not fail in this task, for there will be no world at all for our children if we do.

Consequently, it begs us to examine what kind of job have we done so far? As of today, nearly 36 million acres of natural forests is lost each year (an area bigger than the state of New York) due to industrialization and over forestation for human consumption. The Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades as a result of automobiles, factories and power plants adding more and more greenhouse gases to our atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is expected to produce global warming of three to eight degrees by the year 2050 with evidence of glacial melting and rising sea levels already occurring.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in air conditioners, refrigeration, plastic foam, and other products are burning a hole through the ozone layer, which blocks harmful radiation from reaching the earth’s surface. Air pollution has created acid rain, which has impaired twenty thousand Canadian lakes and has damaged more than 14% of Europe’s forests. Ten percent of the world’s rivers are heavily polluted. Twenty billion tons of waste ends up in the ocean each year, and over 180 million gallons of motor oil, the equivalent of sixteen Exxon Valdez oil spills, are either sent to landfills or poured down the drain.

The Environmental Protection agency estimates that 80% of the landfills now in operation will reach capacity in the next twenty years. Due to human intervention such as over harvesting, pollution, destruction of habitat, introduction of new predators and food competitors, and other influences has resulted in 784 extinctions of animal species recorded since the year 1500, with many more likely to have gone unnoticed. (Bradley Artson, It’s a Mitzvah)

It appears we are no longer “tilling and tending” to our earth as instructed by God but treating the planet as an instrument for our manipulation rather than as a system in which we live and of which we are a part. The effects of our overproduction together with our need for convenience have global implications that have already caused permanent and destructive changes to the natural order. We must address now the way in which we live in the world, the way in which we can curtail our extravagance and wastefulness, and the way in which we can restore a sense of balance between our need to live off the earth and our need to preserve it. This puts into play another mitzvah we can perform, Bal Tash’hit, which means, “do not waste or destroy.” As we have seen, the way we use resources in our homes and personal lives can have a significant impact on the health of our planet. In fact a Resolution of the Central Conference of American Rabbis states:

“We have a solemn obligation to do whatever we can within reason both to prevent harm to current and future generations and to preserve the integrity of the creation with which we have been entrusted. Not to do so when we have the technological capacity as we do in the case of non-fossil fuel energy and transportation technologies is an unforgivable abdication of our responsibility.”

During the month of Shevat we are summoning our entire congregation and greater community to begin the work of repairing the damage done by living the mitzvah, Shore Adamah and heeding God’s commandment on a daily basis. Shomrei Adamah asks us to do something positive, to be sensitive to our environment by recycling, by conserving and by treating other life forms with dignity. One way to do the mitzvah of Shomrei Adamah is by celebrating Tu B’Shevat. While most Jewish holidays and festivals reflect some aspect of how we should live in harmony with the Earth, this day is unique in its attention to the celebration of trees. According to the Mishnah, Tu b’Shevat (the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat) marks the new year for trees as in biblical times it was important to establish the age of a tree in order to observe the laws of tithing fruit. Today, we mark this occasion with a seder and the themes of the meal include appreciating the beauty of the world, the cycle of the seasons, and our special love for the Land of Israel.

It is traditional to conclude a Tu b’Shevat seder with the planting of a tree. There is a midrash that goes, “One day he, Choni the circle-drawer, was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree; he asked him, “How long does it take (for this tree) to bear fruit?” The man replied, “Seventy years.” Choni then further asked him “Are you certain that you will live another seventy years?” The man replied “I found (ready grown) carob trees in the world; as my ancestors planted these for me, so I too plant these for my children.” (Taanit 23a) For this reason, Kita Alef’s mitzvah project is to support the Jewish National Fund by raising money to plant trees in Israel.

Since its founding in 1901, Jewish National Fund has been a vital part of Zionist history, achieving its goal of purchasing the land that would become the State of Israel, helping to develop that land into a thriving nation, and protecting Israel’s environment. Over the past century, the JNF family has planted over 240 million trees, built over 180 dams and reservoirs, developed over 250,000 acres of land, created more than 1,000 parks throughout Israel and educated students around the world about Israel and the environment. Through the support of donors around the world, the JNF family was able to ensure that Israel was the only nation in the world to end the 20th century with more trees than it had at the beginning. In addition, over the past decade, JNF has increased its water resources to furnish water to more than 1.2 million Israelis. Please visit the Jewish National Fund web site at http://www.jnf.org or call 1-800-542-TREE for more information about ways you can help.

Additionally, the Religious School Student Knesset has challenged the school and congregation to a “Go Green” competition. Every student will be collecting used plastic water bottles of all sizes and filling them with spare change. The class that brings in the most bottles will win a prize. Then the Alef class will be taking the bottles to be recycled and the money will be donated to the Jewish National Fund to plant trees. The spare change brought inside the bottles by the students will be donated to the Mitzpeh Ramon Reservoir Project in order to provide water for the trees being planted and for the people of Israel. The students will begin this competition on Tu B’Shevat and final results will be revealed on March 4, 2008. If you do not have a child enrolled in the Religious School but would like to support this cause, a large water bottle will be placed in the Temple lobby for you to add your spare change. Every little bit really helps!

Please also visit the website www.greenribbonpledge.org and join the 45,577 people who have taken the Green Ribbon Pledge to conserve energy for a secure future! There are hundreds of things you can do every day to reduce energy consumption. And cutting down energy use is the most important thing you can do to secure our future from the negative effects of unreliable, unstable and environmentally damaging energy sources.

We would appreciate having the congregation share their reflections on performing the mitzvot we will feature this month. Please place your reflections in the box located in the Temple lobby, or you now can e-mail your responses directly to dsinger@pjtc.net. Working together through the got mitzvot? program we are creating the nitzotzot (sparks) needed to ignite the world’s social conscience and make a difference within our own community. And after you have read this newsletter, if you do nothing else but put it in a recycle bin…you have done a mitzvah! Thank you for your help!

The Way of the Land

Tue, 1 Jan 2008 12:00:42 -0800

Derech Eretz is the mitzvah we will focus on as we enter the month of Kislev. Literally translated, Derech Eretz means “The Way of the Land.” In its broadest sense, this means acting with consideration and kindness to one’s fellow human beings, and in so doing, fulfilling the will of God. In the Talmud and Midrash, there are approximately 200 teachings concerning Derech Eretz as decent, polite, respectful, thoughtful, and civilized behavior. One representative teaching is that “Derech Eretz comes before Torah.” (Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 9:3) One cannot personify Torah until he demonstrates Derech Eretz in everything that he does. Not even God. In the Torah it is written, after God told Abraham that he would be rewarded for his loyalty, Abraham asked, “What can You give me when I am childless? (Genesis 15:2)” God replied that Abraham’s descendants would flourish, saying “Please look at the heavens and count the stars if you can, this is how many your descendants will be.” (Genesis 15:5) Note that God said to Abraham, “Please.” God is infinite, higher than the highest and greater than the greatest. Yet, we see that even God has Derech Eretz and is polite with a mortal human. We learn from this that even the greatest person must have manners and behave with Derech Eretz and courtesy.

Examples of Derech Eretz that we mortals can incorporate into our lives include being friendly, warm, pleasant, thoughtful, respectful and cheerful to people. Smile at people. Say hello to your neighbors. Hold the door for people coming into a building. Be a part of society. Share in people’s happiness, and comfort them in times of unhappiness. Treat people generously throughout life and regard those that are different, disabled, sick, or depraved as equal of your companionship. Use polite, sincere expressions of “please,” “thank you,” “you’re welcome,” “excuse me,” and “I’m sorry.” Be known as an honest and goodhearted human being, and as a representative of what Torah stands for in practical life.

Fittingly, the mitzvah of Derech Eretz has been selected by our youngest students in Ganeinu, Baynaim and K’Tantanim to explore for this year. Our babies, toddlers and preschoolers in these classes are just beginning to figure out the “way of the land” and are learning how to interact with other people. Through their experiences on the playground, during eating times, at the park, through stories, music and art; they are developing how they will relate to peers, siblings, and the world at large. Mostly, however, it is to us, the adults, they are looking. Our children mirror our every move. It is our behavior they are mimicking and so it is incumbent upon us to be positive role models and ambassadors of Derech Eretz in our speech and actions. In this way we can guide them to form relationships based on Derech Eretz.

As the impending holiday season approaches, our little ones are already eagerly anticipating the gifts they will get. This is the perfect time to instill a little Derech Eretz by helping them to be thankful for what they receive, but also to place the emphasis on giving to those in need. We are asking you to help the students in Ganeinu, Baynaim and K’Tantanim perform the mitzvah of Derech Eretz, “The Way of the Land” by donating a new toy that will be given to children served by the Union Station Foundation.

Union Station Foundation, located in Pasadena, is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest private agency serving the poor and homeless. Union Station offers emergency and transitional housing for individuals and families, hot meals, job development, healthcare, case management services and substance abuse recovery support. Every year, they serve over 145,000 meals and provide 30,000 nights of shelter to their clients.

Union Station Foundation was founded in 1973 by Alice Callaghan and a group of devoted volunteers from All Saints Episcopal Church to serve the poor and homeless in Pasadena’s then-blighted downtown district. Union Station began simply as a storefront on Union Street and offered coffee, donuts and friendship to the indigent residents of the shabby residential hotels, studio apartments and streets adjacent to Colorado Boulevard. The services offered by Union station expanded over the years and in 1995, Rabbi Marvin Gross joined the staff as Executive Director. Gross has led Union Station through an unprecedented period of growth and success. In 2003 Union Station’s new stand-alone Family Center opened, and the first dormitory quickly filled to its capacity of 25 people. The second dormitory, which houses an additional 25 people opened in July 2004. The Family Center offers families a safe and secure place to live while they are working to rebuild their lives. The Family Center houses an average of 60 families per year, a fourfold increase in the number of homeless families served by Union Station at The Depot, their former shelter for homeless women and families. Today, plans are being finalized for an enhanced, modernized facility for their programs for single adults. When construction is complete, Union Station will offer shelter and supportive services to more than 100 men, women and children every night of the year.
From the Union Station Foundation website.

With your support, we could help these people enjoy the holidays by doing the mitzvah of Derech Eretz. Please bring new, unwrapped toys to PJTC and place them in the collection bin located in the got mitzvot? corner of the Temple lobby before December 23, 2007. Then join us on December 25, 2007 at Central Park in Old Town Pasadena, at the corner of Raymond and Del Mar. On this day between 9:30am – 4:00pm your help will be needed to handout toys and serve food to over 2,500 low-income children and their families.

If you are able to attend this event, please come wearing your got mitzvot? t-shirts. If you don’t have one you can purchase them in the school office. Because Ganeinu, Baynaim and K’Tantanim are sponsoring this event, we now have t-shirts in infant and toddler sizes available and since our little girls frowned at the black, we now have them in pink too!

Last year we received a rare visit from a real “Mitzvah Hero” who has dedicated his life to Derech Eretz, Danny Siegel.

Danny Siegel, officially founded the Ziv Tzedakah Fund in 1981 after making several trips to Israel. Our tradition teaches that anyone on a Mitzvah mission will be saved from harm, and so, on each trip, Danny followed this age-old custom and asked friends and relatives for a dollar or two to give away to Tzedakah upon his arrival in the Holy Land. Once in Israel, Danny went in search of ‘the Good People,’ ordinary Israelis who were working tirelessly and simply trying to make the world a better place. Returning from each trip, Danny wrote a one-page report to all of his donors in which he described all of the places that he had distributed their Tzedakah money. From that first $955 Danny collected and gave away, Ziv has grown to an organization that in 2006 completed its 31st year of operation and has distributed more than $8,700,000.

Danny spent the day at the Temple speaking with the Religious School students, USY, Religious School Committee, LBSRS Staff, and interested congregants including Board Members and clergy. After speaking to each of these groups for many hours, Danny declared our kids “blew him away” with their candor and willingness to jump in and help the causes he suggested. The kids loved his notion that if you put the word mitzvah in front of any noun, you’ve got yourself a project that will help make our world a better place. Danny simply pointed out a person, animal or situation in need and our students were quick to volunteer to spearhead a movement to meet it. Below are the mitzvah projects our students initiated immediately following their meeting with Danny. We will continue these projects for this year and we hope you will support the efforts of these children as they become “Mitzvah Heroes” in their own right:

The Mitzvah Good Night Moon Project: The project leader for this mitzvah is Kita Hei student, Ariel Vaisbort. She is requesting people donate money or used copies of the book Goodnight Moon in excellent condition. With these donations, Ariel is determined to purchase as many copies of this classic children’s book in order to give them to kids who have never received a book of their own to keep.

The Mitzvah Crib Project: Kita Gimel students Carmela Tornek and Roxanna Pais-Honowitz are in charge of this project. A real crib will be set up on the Temple grounds. The girls are requesting people donate new or used baby items in excellent condition (clothing, formula, diapers, etc.). The items that they receive will be donated to organizations helping mothers and babies in need of help.

The Mitzvah Cell Phone Project: Organized by Kita Gimel, this project is intended to help save lives by giving people in imminent danger cell phones. Even without paying for service, a cell phone in working condition can dial 911. The students are asking congregants who have or know of someone who has a cell phone with a charger that they no longer need to bring them to the school office. The class will take the phones to local law enforcement agencies that will distribute them to seniors, victims of domestic abuse, etc.

The Mitzvah Crayon Project: The first student at LBSRS to take on this project was Kita Dalet student, Max Bellar. Max was upset by the notion that there are children in our country today who have never had something as simple as their own box of crayons. Especially, when he was informed that on a daily basis restaurants that offer kids menus and crayons often throw the used crayons away even though they are still in good condition. Max went to dinner at one of these restaurants and asked them instead of throwing them away if they could save them for him and he would return the next week to pick them up. They agreed and now we have bags full of crayons to give to kids who have never had any of their own to use. Please help Max by doing the same the next time your family goes out to eat and bring the crayons to the school office and they will be given to children in need.

The Mitzvah Plant Project: After being informed of a psychological study conducted with a group of seniors living in retirement facilities, Kita Dalet student Alex Weisz, agreed to lead this project. In the study one group of seniors were given plants to take care of and another group of seniors were given the same plants but their caretakers took care of the plants instead of the seniors. The results of the study showed the group of seniors who had to care for their own plants actually lived over fifteen years longer in better health and state of mind than the other group. Alex articulated this was because the seniors “had something to take care of which gave their life purpose and worth living.” Alex has already bought two plants that will be donated to the seniors at Park Marino Retirement Facility that is adjacent to the Temple.

We are also very pleased to announce that our school Student Knesset has been selected and our first meeting took place on November 27th. The students on this committee are now in control of the future of the got mitzvot? program. Their responsibilities include selecting, planning, implementing, and publicizing the mitzvah projects we will endeavor for this year. We are very excited and eager for our students to begin spearheading the movement to change our world for the better. The names of the students on the Student Knesset are: Shai Martinez and Desi DiPaolo from Kita Aleph, Lillian Miller and Ori Weiss from Kita Bet, Roxana Honowitz and Shayna Rothenberg from Kita Gimel, Alex and Jeremy Weiss from Dalet, David Merino and Ariel Vaisbort from Kita Hei.

We would appreciate having the congregation share their reflections on performing the mitzvot we are featuring this month. Please place your reflections in the box located in the Temple lobby, or you now can e-mail your responses directly to dsinger@pjtc.net. Working together through the got mitzvot? program we are creating the nitzotzot (sparks) needed to ignite the world’s social conscience and make a difference within our own community. Thank you for your help!

Cheshvan Update

The congregation endeavored to show compassion for others in our community by fulfilling the mitzvah of Ma’Achil Re’evim, “Feeding the Hungry”, during the month of Cheshvan.

The LBSRS students in Kita Aleph through Hei participated in a Sandwich Brigade after learning about the effects of global poverty and hunger. They learned many important statistics such as 15% of the global population consumes 90% of all food produced and that every 3.5 seconds someone dies from hunger. They even discovered the irony of there being more than enough food for every person on earth to eat fitfully, yet 55% of the population is teetering on the brink of starvation. Utilizing real life scenarios, students realized their help is needed to rectify the horrible inequity found in the world. They immediately got to work to do something about it. Using bread, cream cheese and jelly, and cheese generously donated by parents and staff, the students made over 200 sandwiches for the homeless served by Foothill Unity Center in Monrovia. The sandwiches were delivered to the Center before Thanksgiving and the students felt empowered that they were able to help people in their own community.

Kita Dalet visited Foothill Unity Center to sort and box food items making it possible for over 2,000 families to cook their own Thanksgiving Day meals. Thank you to everyone who donated canned items for this cause. The recipients were extremely grateful and our students experienced first-hand the power of giving. Donations will gladly be accepted for the entire year and Kita Dalet will get them to Foothill Unity and the people who are in need of food. Kita Dalet is also requesting that every congregant with internet access visit The Hunger Site on the web at www.thehungersite.com and click on the yellow “help feed the hungry” icon once a day. This simple action gives over a cup of fortified food to a hungry person at no cost to you. The site sponsors provide funding, and food is distributed by two leading nonprofit hunger relief organizations: Mercy Corps and America’s Second Harvest. The number of people who click each day determines the amount of food that goes to the hungry, so please forward this message along. A “click to give” costs nothing but a few seconds of your time, and gives help and hope to a person in desperate need.

On October 28th, Kita Hei participated in the CROP Walk, a 5K loop through Pasadena and by generating sponsorships raised an incredible $2,100 to donate to this worthy organization, which funds a variety of local food banks and homeless shelters in our area.