Faith leaders, schoolchildren, parents, a charity, a Jewish youth group and supportive members of the public came together in a display of unity at the weekend.

Mitzvah Day, a Jewish-led day of social action, was marked differently this year because of the pandemic.

But volunteers and guests were still able to carry out charitable and community-led activities on Sunday across Borehamwood and Bushey, with the theme of ‘Food Brings us Together’ and ‘Celebrating Diversity’.

As part of the day, a video was streamed live in which messages of peace and friendship were shared by faith leaders from Hertsmere’s Christian, Jewish, Hari Krishna and Muslim communities, together with the coordinators of Gratitude – a charity which supplies food and other goods to people in need.

The video also featured drawings from schoolchildren, at Yavneh Primary School and Yavneh College in Borehamwood, as well as welcoming the Muslim community to their new mosque in Maxwell Road, Borehamwood.

Over at Hartspring Lane Community Centre in Bushey, regular volunteers were joined by those from Jewish youth group FZY and Muslim community leaders to participate in a lively food distribution session, performing Mitzvot and good deeds for the wider community.

As part of the week’s activities, Gratitude also ran a kosher food bank at Yavneh College.

Organisers had planned for volunteers to help redecorate the new mosque premises, plant flowers in its garden and conduct a litter pick at neighbouring Maxwell Park to help the environment – but the lockdown regulations meant this was no longer possible.

Mitzvah Day project coordinator, Dr Dan Ozarow, said: “I would like to thank all of the children, organisations, faith leaders and volunteers who contributed to making this truly beautiful project such a success, especially at such short notice and under difficult conditions with lockdown and the pandemic.”

Rabbi Jeff Berger said: “As interfaith advisor for Mitzvah Day, I applaud the Borehamwood & Bushey project. Though we were restricted by lockdown from doing the outdoor planting and DIY originally intended, this community-building spirit gave us all a sense of inspiration and pride.”

The Imam of the Borehamwood Islamic Society said: “We are honoured here today to stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity and we are humbled at being welcomed finally as part of the Borehamwood community.

“It is only through consideration, compassion and cohesion may a community truly flourish and which makes a nation stand apart.

“To work alongside our wider community with our multi-faith and non-faith leaders to make Borehamwood a better place for people from all walks of life.”

https://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/18879981.mitzvah-day-celebrated-borehamwood-bushey/

https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/18879981.mitzvah-day-celebrated-borehamwood-bushey/

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At this challenging time, as the Abrahamic faith communities approach a most sacred season in their annual calendars – Passover, Easter and Ramadan – lock down is depriving all of us of the opportunity to congregate in person. In that the virus at the centre of this global pandemic is not differentiating between religious affiliation, gender, race, or nationality, we see this as an opportunity to stand in solidarity with each other. 

On this important occasion, we’ve asked two of our Mitzvah Day supporters to share with us the struggles their communities will face in celebrating Holy Week and observing Ramadan in the weeks ahead. We hope you find comfort in knowing that all of humanity are fighting the same cause and that religious leaders firmly believe that our prayers and support of each other will lead us forward with hope and inspiration.

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In view of the UK ‘lock down’ brought on by the rapid spread of COVID-19, families must remain isolated during the Passover festival. Here is a reflection on the meaning of Passover, which we are feeling much more literally this year than ever before.

The phrase ‘Passover is coming!’ used to elicit groans around the Jewish world from women of my mother’s generation – mainly because the responsibility for cleaning and cooking fell heavily upon their shoulders. As a child I remember three days before the festival, my mother, aunts and grandmother joined together to clean the kitchen and prepare food for the festival. Family recipes were passed from generation to generation during those special occasions. And on Seder night, the dining room was filled with energetic conversation and laughter from grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins … and we always had enough food!

In a sign of the changing social norms, my generation adopted a more equitable sharing of the workload. Husbands take more responsibility for shopping, cleaning, cooking and for organizing the house. One man we know bakes his own matzah. Of recent, the sighs being heard came simultaneously from both partners.

But, this year we will see a different response entirely. Those who might have travelled abroad and attended a communal or hotel-arranged Seder will be at home. Large families who used to gather together are forced into isolation. Already great efforts are being made to provide DIY materials for anyone who has seldom organized their own Seder. For the elderly, especially, innovative ideas are being suggested for linking them to children and grandchildren whose physical presence they are deeply missing. This year’s sighs are the sighs of loneliness and fear.

I confess to being more than a little bit frightened. My fears include hearing about friends who’ve become ill, being concerned for the wellbeing of family, friends and colleagues around the world, and even for personal survival. I’m anxious about the economic upheaval caused by this coronavirus, and the speed of change that has taken us from being able to travel far and wide, into socially distanced queues outside grocery shops and to being locked down in our homes.

As a rabbi, in stressful times my training leads back to the Torah – and on this occasion a closer look at the Biblical experience of Passover.

After 210 years of enslavement, the Israelites suffering under Egyptian bondage, were commanded to take a lamb and seclude themselves in their homes. On the 14^th day of Nisan as night began to fall, they used its blood to mark the doorposts of their homes.

Later that night, families, confined to their self-isolation, were to roast the meat and eat it with matzah and bitter herbs while dressed to leave – shoes, staff and cloak close to hand. No one could go out, nor did each household know what was happening at their neighbors’.

This night, called Leil Shimurim (Night of Watchfulness) when God watched over our ancestors, became a part of our calendar to be told and retold throughout the millennia.

The Torah doesn’t describe how each Israelite family felt that night. But we can imagine that as they heard wailing outside, they may have experienced some trepidation, just as we may currently be feeling.

What makes this experience profound is that the following morning, at dawn the entire slave population were redeemed. The Israelites were set free leaving Egypt as a newly emerging nation.

This Passover will be an exceptional year and will be surely one that is remembered by our children and for decades to come.

In each and every generation, we are obliged to view ourselves as having been redeemed from Egypt. This year we have a unique opportunity to do so.

Undoubtedly we will emerge from this pandemic. The question to begin thinking about now is, how, in the weeks or months ahead, will we celebrate our redemption.

May you have a meaningful Passover and keep well.

(Click here for Part 2)