Now that we as a community have had a little time to catch our collective breath, I would like to offer a challenge to each member of our congregation, child and adult: add one act of Jewish religious expression, referred to as a Mitzvah, to your daily or weekly regimen of activities.

Where to start? Here are a number of suggestions for you to consider:

1. Include Birkat HaMotzi before each meal.

Elevate the experience of simply refueling your body to one of gratitude to God for providing nourishment to you.

2. Attend one Shabbat morning service a month.

Feel the warmth and celebration our community enjoys weekly when we separate the responsibilities we all have (school, work, raising families, etc.) from the holy task of praying and socializing together as a congregation. (the Kiddush afterwards is pretty darn good, too!)

3. Recite the Shma upon waking up in the morning and before lying down at nighttime. At these still and intimate times of the day, we can bring God's Shechina, divine presence, into our bedrooms, raising this seemingly mundane activity to a higher level. God is One, God is with us always, and, most importantly, God loves us.

4. Contribute something each day to the pushke in your home.

Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Bazeh-it is the responsibility of all Jews to look out for one another. At this time of great crisis to Jews in Israel, Europe, and South America, make it your responsibility to help in whatever way you can to easing their financial and emotional pain.