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Temple Beth El in Hillsborough held their annual Mitzvah Day March 22, where members of the temple and the community came out in force to raise money for relief organizations.

The activities that took place throughout the day were: a blood drive; members from the soup kitchen Elijah's Promise spoke to Hebrew school students; a food drive for the Somerset County Food Bank; Nothing But Nets, an organization that provides anti-malaria bed nets for people in Africa; Operation Shoebox; a temple clean up; a bake sale; an advocacy table for Darfur; and get-well cards for soldiers.

David Kornberg and Robin Osman co-chaired the event. Osman said Mitzvah Day has been taking place for at least 20 years, but this is the first time that she and Kornberg have organized it.

"We're thrilled with the responsibility and the generosity of the community," Osman said.

The goal of the day was to support the community in every way possible, she said. Some of the activities focused on long-term solutions like advocacy for Darfur, while other events focused on short-term solutions like the temple cleanup and the bake sale, she said. In addition to the efforts of herself and Kornberg, many committees at the shul and the Hebrew school students assisted in the preparation for Mitzvah Day, she said.

"It's just a great result of all the committees working together," Osman said.

Everyone that volunteered on Mitzvah Day did it because they wanted to help, she said. Osman said it was a great feeling to work hard for many worthy causes all at the same time.

Margaret Selzer of Basking Ridge, who has coordinated the blood drive for the past couple years said the drive is very important and everyone should give blood if they can. Every blood drive gets between 60 and 70 donors, which are a combination of temple members and people from the community, she said.

"It brings us together as a community and it shows how Temple Beth El, in the Jewish tradition, is trying to give back to the greater community," Selzer said.

The blood drive brings the community together and allows people to give back, she said. The importance of giving blood is simply the fact that without it people can't survive.

"The obligation in Judaism is to prepare the world, tikkun olam," she said. "It's great to be part of a whole day where you have the community coming together for different purposes and different reasons, all for the same ultimate purpose of giving back to the community."

Kornberg said he originally got involved with social action and tikkun olam in order to be a good role model for his children.

"The thing revolves around the kids understanding what a mitzvah is, so we want to understand God put us on the earth for a reason -- we have to follow God's commandments," he said.

Kornberg, who assisted with the Nothing But Nets activity throughout the day, said the organization is very important. He said it was expected to raise about $400 to $500, which would allow the organization to purchase anywhere between 40 to 50 bed nets for people in Africa, because the nets only cost $10. The important aspect of the campaign here at Mitzvah Day was educating the children about what the organization is and what they do, he said.

Andrea Lanza, of Hillsborough, was there with her daughter. Lanza said she takes a class at the temple on Tuesday nights with Osman and wanted to come after hearing about it so much from Osman the other people in the class.

"I think it's a great way to get kids involved," Lanza said. "It's important to see everyone give back to the community and get involved."

Temple President Rick Miller said he has been a member for 20 years and this was the biggest turnout for Mitzvah Day ever. If it wasn't for the hard working people on the Social Action Committee and the leadership that they provide the day wouldn't have been possible, he said.

"We like to think of every day as Mitzvah Day at Temple Beth El," Miller said.

Mitzvah Day allows people of all ages to contribute to society in a variety of ways, he said. A child could shoot hoops and at the same time benefit a child in Africa, while a healthy adult could donate blood and save a life, he said.

"It brings out many congregants to perform many mitzvot, including cleaning up around the synagogue and helping to raise money to fight malaria," Miller said.

The 5th graders of the Hebrew school assisted in preparing the care packages for the American soldiers. Devorah from Piscataway, who is 11 years old and in the 5th grade, said sending supplies and food to the soldiers is just a great feeling.

"The soldiers are going to cheer," Courtney, an 11-year-old from Hillsborough, said. "They all get these new things and it's a really good thing to do."

Education Co-Director Lisa Friedman, of Hillsborough, said she was very proud of her students and their efforts on Mitzvah Day. Overall, it was an exciting day that brought the community together for a great purpose.

Liz Cohen, who was in charge of the advocacy table for Darfur, said it is imperative that people know about the genocide that is taking place in Africa. She said the president of Sudan has expelled 13 aid groups from Sudan.

"We're asking people to write emails and call," she said. "Especially as Jews, we can't stand by silently."

Throughout the history of the Jewish people, genocide has been prevalent, and Jews need to step up to the plate and assist people in Darfur in any way possible, she said. If one doesn't stand up in the face of injustice, then they are complicit, she added.

Somerset County has the most homeless people in the state, which is why supporting the Interfaith Hospitality Network is important, according to Leigh Freeman, of Hillsborough, the coordinator of the IHN for the temple. There are 13 religious institutions in Somerset County that take part in the IHN and Beth El is the only synagogue of the 13. Six times a year it takes in homeless people and provides them with food and shelter for a week, she said.

"We cannot ignore the negative things going on," Freeman said. "There are homeless families and we can't allow them to live in their cars or on the streets."