Stella Blizzard Snow Day
Posted on March 13, 2017
This blog post was written by Alisa Danon Kaplan, a Program Associate.
“Kindness is like snow, it beautifies everything it covers.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
Yes, it is March. And yes, they are predicting up to two feet of snow for tomorrow. (Happy Spring, Everyone!) While the prospect of snow, particularly in March, may not make you smile, the snow is a blessing. The Talmud (Taanit 3b) teaches: “Raba said snow is of equal benefit to the mountains as fivefold rain to the earth, as it says (Job 37:6): ‘For He says to the snow: Fall you on the earth, likewise to the shower of rain’.” The snow is also a blessing because it gives us time to do chesed and make the world a better, kinder place.
Here are 14 suggestions to make March 14 a day filled with chesed. While the weather is not something that we can control, acts of kindness are something we can do no matter what the weather may be. Try one or more suggestions as the snow comes down and then share with us what you did. Post your action to social media tagging @Areyvut and #snowdaychesed or e-mail us pictures at [email protected].
- Show your children the value of helping others and talk about how it also helps us feel better about ourselves.
- Invite your child to call on a neighbor who may be alone, bring over hot chocolate, and spend some time visiting.
- Help shovel a neighbor’s driveway.
- Make soup or some other warm nourishing food and bring it over to a neighbor.
- Celebrate Pi Day and bake a pie. There is something unbelievably comforting about a warm pie on a cold day. Share the pie with people you love or just savor it yourself.
- Arrange for your child to play in the snow with a child who could use a friend.
- Deep clean the house. Vacuum, dust…it may not seem like chesed, but it will certainly bring joy and contentment to someone.
- Organize the garage or your basement. A snowy day is a good time to tackle that task. You will feeling productive and an organized garage or basement will make your next big project that much easier.
- With pen and paper, write thank you notes to people who have helped you. And then mail them!
- Offer to do something for your friend or family member that you know they don’t like doing, like cleaning their kitchen or doing their laundry.
- Offer the mailman a hot cup of coffee or tea.
- When you are done brushing off the snow from your car, clean off the car in the parking spot next to yours.
- Take inventory of your closets. Anything you haven’t worn in six months put aside for charity.
- Put down the screens and connect, play, and have meaningful conversations.
Now that you have made, March 14 a day of kindness and chesed, we invite you to continue filling your days with chesed. On Sunday, April 2, 2017, Areyvut is asking people around the world to create programs dedicated to actively helping others. We are hoping to have hands-on chesed programs going on continuously for the entire 24 hour period.
We want you to join us in this mission. Participate by selecting an act of kindness and register to do that act of kindness on April 2 or plan a program for your community. You can register your project and/or order (free) 24 Hours of Chesed T-shirts here: http://bit.ly/kindnesseverysecond
