'Good deeds' day at Maidenhead Synagogue fosters interfaith friendships

A ‘joyous’ day of action held by Maidenhead Synagogue on Sunday saw people of different faiths put aside world events to help in the community.

Mitzvah (‘good deeds’) Day is an international Jewish-led interfaith day of giving time to make the world a better place.

The theme this year, ‘Repair the World’, felt ‘especially poignant’ this year, said Alexandra Domingue, the event’s coordinator.

“Under the cloud of everything that’s going on abroad, things went exceedingly well,” she said.

“It was really special to have people from other faiths and backgrounds join in and focus on something else.”

In addition to 100 volunteers from the synagogue, there were guests from St Luke’s Church, the Mayor, and Julie Siddiqi (recognised for promoting interfaith understanding) alongside some friends from the Muslim community.

Among other activities, volunteers completed litter picks, including a ‘reverse tashlich.’

Tashlich is a Jewish tradition of casting off the sins from the previous year into the river, by throwing oats as symbolism. The ‘reverse’ version involved picking litter up from the waterways.

There were also 80 meals cooked for the Brett Foundation – fewer than other years, due to the Brett Foundation needing to relocate.

Knit Your Socks Off group from Slough led interested people in crocheting and knitting bears for refugee children in camps in Dunkirk and Calais, via O’s Refugee Aid Team.

In total, about 50 to 60 children were involved on Mitzvah Day, including under-sixes helping sort donations or make birdboxes.

Part of the aim was showing volunteers they can give back, no matter their age.

A group of mostly youngsters enjoyed ‘walrus watching’ – a WWF scheme encouraging people to look at satellite images to identify walruses, to track the impacts of climate change.

Other attendees also cleaned graves at the Jewish part of Braywick cemetery, led by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain.

Cards were made for Save a Child’s Heart, an Israel-based charity which brings in children from developing countries for life-saving heart

Some people visited Herewards House care home to chat with residents.

There was also a ‘collectathon’, filling two cars full with second-hand children’s clothing, books and toys for The Cowshed; and two large boxes of new Christmas toys for the First Days charity.

Mitzvah Day, this year taking place on the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, provided an opportunity for a different focus.

“What we think about the politics might be different but what we share is we feel saddened by what’s happening to the Palestinians,” said Alexandra.

“What unites us all is our grief. That’s how we can come together.”

She added that the rise in antisemitic attacks has made people in Maidenhead ‘fearful’, avoiding London on Saturdays.

“Mitzvah Day is a way of saying we’re carrying on, we still care, we’re being open with you and we want you to see what we do,” Alexandra said.

“Our guests really felt that energy and warmth – we’re a very warm community. It was actually a really joyous day.”