Shared social action creates friendships
WE AT Mitzvah Day are proud to be part of a diverse community of faith leaders equipped to lead inter- and intrafaith initiatives for the benefit of our Jewish and wider communities in the UK.
At the heart of our work are our people; and ensuring they are given opportunities to grow and develop is a focus for our organisation. In the second week of January, I set off to Windsor Castle where I had the privilege of joining the Senior Faith in Leadership Programme (SFLP), which aims to facilitate meaningful encounters between individuals serving faith communities in both lay and clerical capacities.
The SFLP focuses on developing leadership which is inter-disciplinary by nature, affecting people from all walks of life and engaging with the diversity of human experience. The programme explores the forms of coexistence and friendship that are possible between faith traditions, while maintaining their difference and diversity.
It does not aim to create agreement on theology, politics, or any other subject, nor does it aim to create a neutral middle ground. Instead, it aims to provide participants with leadership skills which can be effectively applied in our changing world and to create an environment where individuals can disagree productively and intelligently.
One collective experience I found among my cohort were questions around why we do this work and how impactful it really is. From my personal experience, I strongly believe in the value and benefit of interfaith work. I have borne witness to the simplest of interactions breaking down the “othering” that can push us apart. I want to develop myself as a door opener; trying to guide and assist others into brave spaces of engagement and exploration. When we allow ourselves to push through our personal bubble and into productive discomfort, we find learning, growth, and opportunity.
CST’s latest report, Campus Antisemitism in Britain 2020-2022, shows a 22 per cent increase in university-related antisemitic incidents over the academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22, compared to the two academic years prior. This data clearly indicates there is ongoing work to be done and that the global context of identity politics is pulling, and sometimes tearing, us apart. With most people in the UK having no meaningful contact with Jewish people, it is imperative that we proactively increase our engagement in non-Jewish communities.
By leading the way in interfaith social action all around the world and creating opportunities to bring different people together, we can tackle discrimination and hatred. Mitzvah Day is often the first interaction many people have with Jews, and it provides the opportunity to meet us at our best!
Our day of social action demonstrates the essential impact that the Jewish community has on wider British society through the hundreds of communities that get involved and the thousands of volunteers who collect, plant, cook, sing, befriend, sort and donate on the day, and in the weeks around it.
When we come together with a shared purpose of supporting local causes and improving our neighbourhoods, we see genuine longstanding friendships and relationships built. We bring together people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds to volunteer side-byside. This has proved to be a powerful antidote to prejudice.
Mitzvah Day encourages members of the community to be a part of micro social action projects throughout the year, creating opportunities for touchpoints between our interfaith communities on different occasions.
Another special occasion to come together is for the Mitzvah Day awards, this year being held on March 16, 2023. The focus for these awards is not only on how we made a difference on Mitzvah Day, but on the relationships we strengthened and the new friends we made.
We celebrate the immediate successes and the longer term, sustainable, nurtured achievements which is what “doing a mitzvah” is all about, so don’t forget to vote for your favourite charity.
In 2023 I look forward to encouraging our community to focus on building relationships through side-by-side social action, so that we can all remember to “Love your neighbour as yourself”.
The simplest of interactions can break down ‘othering’