Mitzvah

In Judaic tradition, the word mitzvah has a rich array of meanings, but it has come generally to be known as a worthy deed or an act of kindness. After a week of non-stop media coverage of the tenth anniversary of 911, the mere mention of the event made me sick. When the actual day arrived, I was not full of the milk of human kindness, but as it happened, we were due to visit a friend in the hospital -- so we went. I told Bob, "This is how it should be. Instead of all this over-the-top sentimentality, each American should do two mitzvahs -- one for a friend, neighbor or family member -- and one for someone whose country we have harmed in our never-ending "War on Terror."

Our mitzvah was our expedition across the Bay Bridge to visit our friend in San Francisco, who was recovering from a serious surgery. This turned out to be an act of kindness for us as well as for her since the visit was so pleasurable.  She entertained us rather formally by sitting up in a chair across from her empty hospital bed. She had a regal gracious air about her so that I felt like I was an emissary from a foreign country (the outside world) visiting Queen Victoria. We were delighted to see her recovering so rapidly.

I never performed my second mitzvah, the one about doing a kindness to someone in a country where we are waging war.