Mitzvah Day – The largest Jewish-led day of social action in the UK - allowed us to step forward in 2023, in the face of an unprecedented rise in antisemitism, to proudly represent communities all in the hope of a more connected, compassionate, and peaceful world. Guided by the Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), Gemilut Chasadim (acts of kindness) and Tzedek (justice) – with a bold vision of people of all faiths coming together to build more cohesive neighbourhoods and to strengthen civil society through meaningful interfaith work – Mitzvah Day has values that align perfectly with my own, and with many others in our community.

This magic doesn’t just happen once a year. The Mitzvah Day team are working towards building relationships with communities every single day, to create sustainable partnerships that will have an impact all year round.

Mitzvah Day brings thousands of people together, to give our most valuable possession: our time. We strive to make a positive difference to the communities around us on Mitzvah Day and throughout the year by encouraging and celebrating volunteering and building relationships with people we may not usually meet to build a strong civil society.

On Mitzvah Day, communities and individuals are empowered to engage in a wide variety of social action projects, including visiting older or lonely people; collecting clothing to donate to refugees; replenishing food bank stores; cooking for homeless people and taking part in environmental projects. All these projects facilitate genuine connections between communities, individuals and the charities they support, using social action as the way to connect.

Mitzvah Day 2023 took place during unprecedented times and as a result of this, the Mitzvah Day team returned to their core values – our resolute belief that through social action and by working together, we can make the world a better place.

In a time of division, pain, anger, and sadness, we invited Jewish and non-Jewish people to do what we all do best, to repair our fractured and grieving world. We urged our synagogues, schools, youth groups and others to do what we always do; to contact local charities, to support them hands on and, crucially, to reach out to our neighbours of all faiths and none in warmth, kindness and in friendship.