With this post, Synablog welcomes contributor Rabbi Daniel Zemel of Temple Micah in Washington, DC. Rabbi Zemel is a member of the S3K Leadership Network Working Group on Spiritual Leadership.

It is time to end “Mitzvah Days” for the many “mis-lessons” that they teach. We all know what Mitzvah Day is– that great initiative of many congregations around the country to organize large segments of their communities on a particular Sunday to go out and perform community service– paint houses, serve meals, clean up parks, visit hospitals, perform at nursing homes- the list goes on.

For Jews, every day is Mitzvah Day from the moment we wake up in the morning and say “Modeh ani…” to the moment we recite “Sh"ma…” as we turn off the lights. This is or should be the primary lesson of all Jewish education. Mitzvah is the way we engage the world. Mitzvah is the way we strive for holiness. Mitzvah is the power behind tikkun. Mitzvah is what infuses every moment with sacred possibility. What is called “Mitzvah Day” might more properly be called “Good Deed Day” because that, in fact, is what it actually is. Mitzvah is the language of obligation. “Mitzvah Day” is an American Jewish slogan.

How much energy goes into planning and organizing Mitzvah Day? How many person hours go into pulling off such an event? How many phone calls, committee meetings, flyers, announcements, appointments, e-mail messages? All of this simply serves to point up the scope of the problem. Mitzvah Day is an event, but as an event it cannot lead to a lifestyle, merely anticipation of more events.

There are other questions to at least think about when considering Mitzvah Day: Does Mitzvah Day feed a culture where “doing the good” actually becomes “making me feel good?”Have we become so good at social action that we neglect the essential Jewish demand for pursuing social justice? Mitzvah Day is simply another program that deflects attention, time and energy from the larger picture of building Jewish communities and Jewish life on a mitzvah foundation.

When our synagogues are stages from which we launch programs, we present Judaism as an event to attend rather than a lifestyle to live and pursue. Rabbis need to be teachers and role models trumpeting a compelling prophetic vision for a better world and not merely program organizers content with “Jewish activity.” Let"s end Mitzvah Day and take the next step– to create Jewish living inspired by a Jewish call to social justice every day.

S3K Leadership Network member Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky appears in this week’s Jewish Journal Tu b’Shevat story:

For most Orthodox synagogues, environmental activism is comparatively new. Canfei Nesharim (the wings of eagles), the first and perhaps only Orthodox environmental organization, was launched on Tu b"Shevat 2003.

…Among Orthodox congregations reacting favorably to Canfei Nesharim"s message is B"nai David-Judea Congregation in Los Angeles, which is moving discussion about environmental issues from back to front burner, said Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky.

“While Canfei Nesharim"s emphasis is on study, I would like B"nai David"s emphasis to be on action,” said Kanefsky, who is especially concerned about the impact of “carbon footprints,” referring to the effect that human activities have on the environment, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

Google alerts are funny: when I first received this a few minutes ago, I thought it was for this year (5766). Two S3K Leadership Network members in two weeks, I thought; not bad!

But it’s not new — it’s from last year. Yet Google sent it to me tonight, and it even got the right parshah, right on time: B’shalach. And the drash is all about memory.

So it’s worth re-reading S3K Leadership Network member Rabbi Sharon Brous’s Torah commentary in The Jewish Journal Of Greater Los Angeles. She concludes,

We revisit the darkness in order to remember the suffering. We remind ourselves to not change the channel when we see grueling images of destruction in far away places. We know what it feels like to be raw and real, and to have a sense of urgency. We know how to be present in the face of pain: ours and others. That"s what it means to see through the black part of the eye — the darkness gives us a clarity we wouldn"t otherwise have.

But we must be careful neither to romanticize, nor to become paralyzed by the darkness. Our story is one of redemption, so, like Moses, we must faithfully march out of Egypt, carrying on our shoulders the very symbol of the descent into darkness. It"s not enough to be present to the darkness, to dwell in the images and the stories of human suffering. Our responsibility is to gather up the pieces and begin to ascend.

In the aftermath of a catastrophe that has redefined the geographical and theological landscape of our generation, we must make space in our hearts to remember our experience in Egypt so that we can truly identify with the pain of those suffering so greatly. But then we must fight to reverse the course of the descent with courage, commitment and compassion, refusing to leave anyone behind in the darkness.

It took me a few moments to remember what she meant by “a catastrophe that has redefined the geographical and theological landscape of our generation.” Fortunately, others (elu ve-elu) are not so quick to forget….

[And in case you're looking for this year's JJ commentary on B'shalach, click here for Rabbi Toba August's reflection on Shabbat Shirah.]

S3K Leadership Network member Rabbi Ed Feinstein wrote the Torah commentary (Parashat Bo) in this week’s Jewish Journal Of Greater Los Angeles. He concludes:

Those who worry over the future of Jewry cite grim statistics of assimilation, alienation and disaffection of contemporary Jews. But our real problem is deeper than statistics can show - it is the loss of our shared story, the lack of a compelling narrative of Jewish life. Go back to your beginnings, Rashi bids us, and recollect your story. For the source of your collective life and faith is in your shared story.