Gates of Heaven believes in challenge
Synagogue launches online Dare to Do a Mitzvah as a way to do good deeds in world
Think of it as an antidote to “devious licks,” the stupid viral online dare that challenges its sheep-like followers to vandalize school toilets. Schenectady’s Gates of Heaven launched its warmhearted polar opposite.
Gates of Heaven has launched Dare to Do a Mitzvah, an online challenge to repair the world in ways ranging from prosaic but necessary to creative and epic. Mitzvah’s literal translation is “commandment” but Gates of Heaven uses it as most people do, to refer to a “good deed.” The synagogue normally has a Mitzvah Day but in these nerveshredding times, more was needed.
November was declared “Mitzvah Month.”
“The world needs us more than ever, and while most of our opportunities to give back will take place virtually or from a social distance, our commitment to our local community through volunteerism and tzedakah (charitable generosity) is unchanged,” the website says.
The website offers the congregation many projects that can involve a monthlong commitment, from which to choose; dropping off food donations for Schenectady Community Ministries at the temple Nov. 6, making a dish for Bethesda House’s Christmas or Thanksgiving meal for its homeless women and children, donating financially to Mooncatcher or sewing sanitary napkins for impoverished African school girls. There’s even a chance to volunteer to transcribe the diaries of 19th- century explorers and scientists so they will be easy to read and accessible to students of all ages. A link on the synagogue website can take you to Amnesty International’s sign up for volunteer researchers who monitor international news and track cases of good people imprisoned by dictatorships.
The Dare to Do a Mitzvah is Gates’ new social media initiative, designed with kids and teenagers in mind. Each Sunday morning at Gates Quest School, one or more attendees will be challenged, asked to film or photograph the mitzvah he or she performs, then send it to congregational Jewish living director Arnold Rotenberg. He posts them on the congregation’s Facebook page.
“We have encouraged kids in our “Dare to do a Mitzvah” to do something at home,” Rotenberg said. “I have pics of kids taking out the garbage, sorting socks, helping with groceries.”
But two teen girls aimed for a big impact outside their homes. Seventhgraders Evelia Echandy, who is enrolled in Gates Quest, and her friend, Ava Sylvia, are blessed with awesome fundraising skills. They raised $1,000 in a few days for St. Jude’s Hospital as their “dare.”
The temple has hosted opportunities for youthful mitzvahs for decades, long before texting, tweets and Tiktok. The Temple Community Service Corps was launched as a major project of the Social Action Committee back in 1971. Gates describes it as a local version of the Peace Corps. According to the application forms, those eligible are in the 11th and 12th grades, at least 16 years old. (The minimum required is 20 hours weekly). They are paid minimum wage for a 35 hour week. The jobs offer chances to work for community agencies such as nursing homes, children’s recreation programs and agencies for the homeless and the disabled.