blogs/masa

The son of Azzai says, “Run to do a simple mitzvah, and run away from sin. Because doing a mitzvah leads to more mitzvot, and performing sin leads to more sin. Because the reward for a mitzvah is another mitzvah, and the reward for sin is another sin.”

This week at Masa, we spent a great deal of time talking about mitzvot. Last week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, lists many rules the Israelites were commanded to follow. Our text from Pirkei Avot is focused on the suggestion that we should “run to do a simple mitzvah… because the reward for a mitzvah is another mitzvah.” And, as we prepare for Purim, we are learning about the four mitzvot specific to that holiday.

On Friday, we pondered questions of why there are commandments in the Torah that we no longer follow, or which we disagree with. Some of the students thought that it might be better to remove the commandments we no longer believe are right (such as ones relating to slavery, or to capital punishment for cursing a parent) or which are no longer possible to follow (ones related to the Temple). Other students thought that it was good to retain these parts of the Torah so that we have a record of our history.

On Sunday, we began with the question of what a mitzvah is. Here are some of the students’ answers: “A mitzvah is a good deed.” A mitzvah is “sharing things with other people.”  “A mitzvah is a commandment to do good deeds and respect people. If you do a mitzvah… you will inspire people to do more mitzvot that will go around and come back to you.” “A mitzvah is not only a good deed, but also a commandment from the Torah to do something for someone out of the goodness of your heart.” A mitzvah is “instructions to be a good person.” “A mitzvah is sharing things with other people.”

Here are some of the reasons the students suggested we should do mitzvot: “Because some people are less fortunate than us.” They “make people feel good.” “It will improve on you and on someone else.” “We should do mitzvot so we can respect others and respect the teachings of the past.” “Doing a mitzvah is like a business deal: you do a good deed and get one back.” “You should do a mitzvah because it makes someone else feel good, but it makes you feel good, too.”

In our age-group classes, we connected the discussion about mitzvot to learning about Purim. The students learned about the four mitzvot specific to Purim: to hear the whole Megillah (the story of Esther), to have a celebration with a festive meal, to give gifts of food to our friends, and to give gifts to the poor.

We wrapped up the day by learning a Purim song from BHA member Paul Suchow. He was really impressed with how quickly our Masa students learned to sing a four-part song! Our students really love to sing, and they especially love to sing songs with different parts. I hope the adults can do as well at the megillah reading! (Or maybe some of the Masa students will attend to help us out!)

Coming up:

Fridays, 4:00-6:00 Masa; 5:30 Mini Minyan; 6:00 Blessings and potluck; 7:00 Shabbat services.

Sunday, March 8: Purim Carnival! We still need volunteers to help with set up and with booths. Please be in touch with Leilah ASAP to sign up. It can’t happen without your help!

The children’s skit and singing in the upstairs sanctuary at 10:30. 

The Carnival FUN-raiser 11:00 in the social hall. A $36 suggested donation to BHA educational programs will get admission for your whole family, including all activities, a light lunch, AND a bonus of two raffle tickets. Pay in advance on the BHA website.

Monday, March 9: Megillah reading at BHA. The reading for children begins at 6:00. Children are welcome to stay for the community-wide reading of the whole megillah at 7:00. Bring a box of pasta and other non-perishable food!