Hundreds Turn Out To Perform Acts of Kindness On Mitzvah Day (Page 2)

Page 2 Ottawa Jewish Bulletin February 18, 2013
Randi Sherman: Mitzvahs are what being Jewish is all about

(Continued from page 1)
with Karli Speevak, 24, Naomi Geithner, 7, and Meera Tatham, 4, stepping on stage sporting pigtails. Each would have at least 10 inches of their hair cut for Locks of Love, a charity that provides hairpieces to children who need them for medical reasons. Their honorary barbers under the supervision of Spartacat were Mayor Jim Watson, Majic 100 morning host Stuntman Stu, and Jeffrey Miller of event sponsor Ginsberg Gluzman Fage & Levitz. Speevak and the two girls said they were inspired by the Locks of Love donors at last years Mitzvah Day. Among the Mitzvah Day projects taking place at the SJCC were teams assembling birthday kits for children living in shelters and personal hygiene packages for patients at CHEO and lizabeth Bruyre Hospital. Downstairs, the mural in the tunnel linking the SJCC with Hillel Lodge was getting a facelift. There was a theme, noticeable at every turn: families. Nina Jason sat with three of her four children making fleece blankets, which will warm the laps and hands of people with ALS and seniors. Jasons children attend the Temple Israel Religious School, one of several schools that participated in Mitzvah Day. Many participating families said Mitzvah Day was a great lesson for their kids. Its teaching our kids to do good things because its part of the values we want to instil in them, said Aaron Smith, father to Rubin, 5, Georgia, 3, and new baby Jack. There was also a focus this year on including the emerging generation, aged 18 to 35, in Mitzvah Day activities. As a community, the emerging generation is where our future is and we need to get them involved when theyre not being dragged by their parents, said Sherman. That generation is what we need to continue as a warm, vibrant Jewish community so we need to engage them and make them feel welcome. This was done by including young adults on the Mitzvah Day Committee and by expanding the number of off-site mitzvot, in-
Challahs to be used for Shabbat dinners for families served by the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank are prepared during Mitzvah Day. (Photo: Francie Greenspoon)
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY

TO MAKE THINGS SIMPLER
I can help you with: Critical illness insurance Long term care insurance
cluding cooking and serving lunch at Shepherds of Good Hope by a group of 25 young adults. There were four other off-site events, including packing food at the Ottawa Food Bank. We were looking also to partner up with the general non-Jewish community, which I think also is very good because its important for the community to see that as a Jewish entity we do lots of good not just with our own, Sherman explained. Also new this year were collections in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Fairy Godmothers Inc. and Rogers House. While most of the volunteers finished Mitzvah Day feeling fulfilled, some saw immediate impact from their actions. Aaron Smith said his kids received great appreciation when they handed their arts and crafts to residents at Hillel Lodge. And, while those making care packages and writing thank you cards to IDF soldiers werent necessarily expecting feedback, they got it. I myself was a soldier before Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, Roi Mitteiler of the Israeli Embassy told volunteers. We got a big amount of packages from all across world delivered to us and I got one from young girl
named Yael from Toronto. It was very exciting that some person I never met supports what I do. It made me feel very happy that people abroad care about what we do. For Sherman, universal Jewishness
A Mitzvah Day volunteer helps prepare thank you cards for IDF soldiers. (Photo: Francie Greenspoon)
comes down to a key principal: Mitzvahs and good deeds thats what being Jewish is all about.
David Menashri to speak on Iran, March 5 at SJCC

(Continued from page 1)
not national, but religious. For a country like Iran, its convenient and necessary to raise the flag of Jerusalem. Their proxies are in the Gaza Strip (Hamas) and Lebanon (Hezbollah). Menashri thinks there is much the free world can do to meet the challenge of radical Iran. Recently, I must admit that Western countries are doing a lot to pressure Iran, and the effect of the sanctions has been significant. They have not yet changed the countrys policies, but, for the first time, they are pressuring hard. Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries,
Irans nuclear program continues. Menashris expertise on Iran dates back to the 1970s when he spent the final two years of the Shahs regime conducting research and field study in Iran on the eve of Irans Islamic revolution. The dream of the Iranian revolutionaries of 1979 was to achieve two things: social justice and political justice or bread and freedom. For the young people in Cairo two years ago, it was basically the same. February 11 will be the 34th anniversary of the revolution, a date Menashri says Iranians will mark in an atmosphere that is
Insurance and investment solutions that fit your life.

Personal health insurance Financial planning
B.A. (Hons) CFP CDFA CHS
Diane Koven
Bus 613-728-1223 ext 2235 diane.koven@sunlife.com www.sunlife.ca/diane.koven 600-1525 Carling Avenue Ottawa ON K1Z 8R9
Mutual funds offered by Sun Life Financial Investment Services (Canada) Inc. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2012.
Commercial Sales & Leasing F Consulting F Site Selection/Relocations F Tenant Representation F Feasibility Studies Investment/User Properties F Strategic Growth Planning F Land Assemblies/Development Sites
BRENT TAYLOR BROKER of RECORD, PRESIDENT

brent@brentcomrealty.com www.brentcomrealty.com 613-726-7323 / FAX 613-721-8849
gloomy and laced with growing disenchantment and frustration. A professor emeritus of Tel Aviv University, Menashri was head of the universitys Department of Middle Eastern and African History and founding director of its Alliance Center for Iranian Studies. He has been a visiting Fulbright scholar at Princeton University and Cornell University. His research and teachings focus on the social and political history of modern Iran, education and modernization in the Middle East, Islamic radicalism, Shii political thought and Persian Gulf and Central Asian affairs. Menashri will speak Tuesday, March 5, 7:00 pm, at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private. The lecture is presented by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa in collaboration with the Vered Israel Cultural and Educational Program, and the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs. Admission is free.

Hundreds Turn Out To Perform Acts of Kindness On Mitzvah Day (Page 2)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hundreds Turn Out To Perform Acts of Kindness On Mitzvah Day (Page 2)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hundreds Turn Out To Perform Acts of Kindness On Mitzvah Day (Page 2)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Page 2 Ottawa Jewish Bulletin February 18, 2013

Randi Sherman: Mitzvahs are what being Jewish is all about

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY

David Menashri to speak on Iran, March 5 at SJCC

Insurance and investment solutions that fit your life.

BRENT TAYLOR BROKER of RECORD, PRESIDENT

You might also like