Itza Mitzva Collaborator Check-In
If you remember, I applied for and received a grant from ROI120 to support Itza Mitzva. Itza is our local liberal mitzva study group. Itza recognizes that liberal Jews take informed choice seriously. We don’t want to opt-out of mitzvot because of ignorance, but because we studied it and decided “this is not meaningful to me.”
Going back through blog posts and Facebook comments, I found hands raised to write worksheets on a number of mitzvot and concepts. What does writing an Itza Mitzva worksheet entail?
What would you do?
Pick a mitzva to research and write the one sheeter for (front and back of one page)
Find the place in the Torah or Talmud where the mitzvah originates.
If there is a mishna or story about the mitzva, add that too.
Gather some ways this mitzva is observed from very traditionally to loosely.
Find some liberal commentary on the mitzva.
Create 4-5 questions that could be used to lead a discussion on the mitzva.
What mitzvot or concepts have been spoken for?
putting a mezuzah on the doorposts of one’s house
learning Torah
resting on Shabbat
saying the blessing after the meal
Kosher vs. non-kosher meat
baking challah
That’s only 6 and means there are another 600 that can be written about. Of course, the grant is only for $2000 and I have budgeted $20 per mitzva, so we clearly can’t cover all 613. Doesn’t mean we can’t get a good start working through the list. Also, the mitzva you write about can be a modern mitzva–that’s cool, too.
Want to be involved? Please join the Facebook group for Itza Mitzva Collaborators.