With Rosh Hashanah just around the corner, millions of Jews around the world are making preparations to usher in the New Year, and many are using an innovative tool.
With Rosh Hashanah just around the corner, millions of Jews around the world are making earnest preparations to usher in the Jewish New Year. As the momentous feeling of a new year begins to settle in, it naturally brings with it the urge to make resolutions to improve and make better decisions for the year ahead.
This year, communities around the world are utilizing an innovative tool to tackle these resolutions head-on and make them tangible and practical, a community-wide initiative using Merkos 302’s OneMizvah’s Rosh Hashanah Resolution Template.
Styled in the same format as an online crowdfunding campaign, the innovative OneMitzvah platform is a popular tool to raise mitzvah awareness and encourage people to “pledge” a mitzvah as they would a donation. As a customizable template, users can create their own page and make a “team,” and then promote it to their circle of influence.
For this year, a unique Rosh Hashanah-centric page has been created that every shliach can use in their own Chabad House. The attractive graphics and easy-to-use customizable template make for a perfect place to bring the High Holiday inspiration into practical action. Instead of concluding a rousing High Holiday sermon or the inspiration of tekios with a vague, “We should really resolve to do and be better this year,” shluchim can refer their audience to their own OneMitzvah page and urge them to pledge their mitzvah there for all to see.
“Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are perfect times to rally our communities to take on another mitzvah and get more involved in their Judaism,” said Rabbi Pinchas Katz, Shliach at Chabad Illovo, Johannesburg, SA, “But one of the primary challenges is finding an effective and simple ‘onboarding’ for all of that inspiration. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve seen tremendous inspiration in the moment along with serious commitment—only to fizzle out in the coming days. Part of the problem is that there isn’t a great way to immediately ‘catch’ it and give it lasting power.
“But now, we’re already pointing people to our OneMitzvah page, and the mitzvos are rolling in even before Yom Tov has begun. It’s so beautiful to have a meaningful community project that people can be part of and invest in even before Yom Tov begins. It sets the entire Tishrei off on the right foot.”
To raise awareness and bring attention to the One Mitzvah page, a host of eye-catching graphics are available to share via social media outlets or even direct messaging. With messages like, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail: elevate your Rosh Hashanah with just one mitzvah,” it’s sure to grab attention and bring the practical mitzvos rolling in, effectively giving everyone a sweet New Year.
“The Rebbe encouraged shluchim and Rabbis to always bring maaseh be’poel in their activities, communications, and of course, Derashos,” said Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Chairman of the International Kinus Hashluchim and Vice Chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, “With this new platform, that mandate has just gotten a lot easier. It’s also wonderful to have something for the community to do together, for as we all know, a commitment taken on by many always has more lasting power than individual pledges.”
Launch your campaign today at OneMitzvah.org.
For any questions or further information, email [email protected].
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