Mitzvah
NOTE: I started this post Thanksgiving day, and didn't post it till several days later.
Mitzvah is a term from Judaism meaning one the of the 613 commandments in the Torah, but is commonly used to refer to a good deed. At my former preschool we had a MItzvah tree where the kids could put up little paper MItzvah leaves with their good deeds written on them.
Will and I did our little Thanksgiving mitzvah last night. We volunteered for a couple of hours forHosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless which does a giant homeless feed for Thanksgiving (among many other things) We did the food preparation part at a jail. (I had to call my dad and tell him I'd been to jail) Will mainly hauled cans and I pulled Turkey meat off the bones.
I guess today hundreds more volunteers will set up at a local stadium, serve the food and clean up. This is really a very huge effort. Our food prep at the jail was just one of many places people could go volunteer at. Most people at the jail signed up for three hour shifts. We only did two hours. The shifts started at 6, I think, maybe earlier and apparently went till 6am. As we were leaving a lot of new volunteers were coming in. I am still trying to wrap my mind around how many people took part in this event.
The atmosphere at he jail was very friendly and spirits were high. But as I remarked to my fellow Turkey pullers, I was glad this wasn't my day job. I feel for the people who do that kind of work eight hours a day, seven days a week. Will and I were both having bad back issues after just two hours. Everyone there was happy because it was a novelty to be there. Some of the volunteers who were more connected to the Hosea project were going to be there all night. I wonder how they felt?
Matthew 6:3 says "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"
It's a charge not to boast about our good deeds. I suppose by putting up my latest "good deed" on my blog might count as boasting, but I don't feel boastful. Part of my reason for posting is to get others thinking about volunteering. The other reason is a need to explore my relationship to mitzvahs.
We do these little mitzvahs to make ourselves feel better about ourselves sometimes. At least I do. They are my little indulgences. I can stave off my guilt about being selfish for a few days, before I need to find a new mitzvah. But in truth the mitzvah never really takes away the guilt. Even last night, I realized what I was doing was so small. Learning to serve out of true love and compassion is my big challenge. But as they say "fake it till you make it."
I have a couple of volunteer projects coming up, and I know I need to do them. If there is one thing Buddhism and Christianity agree on it is showing compassion for those in need. I am convicted about it. I have all the necessary skills. I have the time. I also have fear and selfishness working against me. I don't want volunteering to interfere with all the "fun" stuff I really want to be doing. For example, last night there was a chance we could have met up with some new friends. It didn't end up working out, but part of me wanted to ditch the Homeless feed to met these friends. Also, I have this lingering fear of failure which keeps me from volunteer opportunities. I fear I will fail somehow at the project, or fail to please the people I will meet/help when volunteering.
When ever I had actually volunteered I have never regretted it. The compassion usually hits me after I get involved. But still I can get annoyed during long term volunteer projects, and see it more as a burden than a joy. I guess service involves sacrifice. If I just naturally wanted to do good, then maybe it would mean less. I beat myself up because I don't have perfect motives, but maybe it means more that I am willing to do it, with all my flawed thinking.
I also think my self motives are not worth considering. If I wait until I have pure altruistic motives I will never do anything and there is so much that needs doing.
Just some ponderings about mitvahs. What have your experiences been.
Mitzvah is a term from Judaism meaning one the of the 613 commandments in the Torah, but is commonly used to refer to a good deed. At my former preschool we had a MItzvah tree where the kids could put up little paper MItzvah leaves with their good deeds written on them.
Will and I did our little Thanksgiving mitzvah last night. We volunteered for a couple of hours forHosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless which does a giant homeless feed for Thanksgiving (among many other things) We did the food preparation part at a jail. (I had to call my dad and tell him I'd been to jail) Will mainly hauled cans and I pulled Turkey meat off the bones.
I guess today hundreds more volunteers will set up at a local stadium, serve the food and clean up. This is really a very huge effort. Our food prep at the jail was just one of many places people could go volunteer at. Most people at the jail signed up for three hour shifts. We only did two hours. The shifts started at 6, I think, maybe earlier and apparently went till 6am. As we were leaving a lot of new volunteers were coming in. I am still trying to wrap my mind around how many people took part in this event.
The atmosphere at he jail was very friendly and spirits were high. But as I remarked to my fellow Turkey pullers, I was glad this wasn't my day job. I feel for the people who do that kind of work eight hours a day, seven days a week. Will and I were both having bad back issues after just two hours. Everyone there was happy because it was a novelty to be there. Some of the volunteers who were more connected to the Hosea project were going to be there all night. I wonder how they felt?
Matthew 6:3 says "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"
It's a charge not to boast about our good deeds. I suppose by putting up my latest "good deed" on my blog might count as boasting, but I don't feel boastful. Part of my reason for posting is to get others thinking about volunteering. The other reason is a need to explore my relationship to mitzvahs.
We do these little mitzvahs to make ourselves feel better about ourselves sometimes. At least I do. They are my little indulgences. I can stave off my guilt about being selfish for a few days, before I need to find a new mitzvah. But in truth the mitzvah never really takes away the guilt. Even last night, I realized what I was doing was so small. Learning to serve out of true love and compassion is my big challenge. But as they say "fake it till you make it."
I have a couple of volunteer projects coming up, and I know I need to do them. If there is one thing Buddhism and Christianity agree on it is showing compassion for those in need. I am convicted about it. I have all the necessary skills. I have the time. I also have fear and selfishness working against me. I don't want volunteering to interfere with all the "fun" stuff I really want to be doing. For example, last night there was a chance we could have met up with some new friends. It didn't end up working out, but part of me wanted to ditch the Homeless feed to met these friends. Also, I have this lingering fear of failure which keeps me from volunteer opportunities. I fear I will fail somehow at the project, or fail to please the people I will meet/help when volunteering.
When ever I had actually volunteered I have never regretted it. The compassion usually hits me after I get involved. But still I can get annoyed during long term volunteer projects, and see it more as a burden than a joy. I guess service involves sacrifice. If I just naturally wanted to do good, then maybe it would mean less. I beat myself up because I don't have perfect motives, but maybe it means more that I am willing to do it, with all my flawed thinking.
I also think my self motives are not worth considering. If I wait until I have pure altruistic motives I will never do anything and there is so much that needs doing.
Just some ponderings about mitvahs. What have your experiences been.
Comments
That is so true. I really appreciated this post. I found it through Adventist Today.