100 Mitzvot for Beth Tfiloh’s 100th Anniversary

Beth Tfiloh has been a spiritual home for our community for 100 years. In celebration of our special centennial year, we offer you 100 mitzvot—good deeds—to help enhance your spiritual life and bring holiness to your home. Perform the mitzvot that you are able to do and hold onto this list as a reference for years to come. More information on each mitzvah can be found on the page numbers from the Koren Sacks siddur listed in parentheses. May the next 100 years at Beth Tfiloh be filled with good deeds and immense spiritual growth for all of us!

DAILY JEWISH LIVING

1. Say the one sentence of the Modeh Ani every morning (p. 5) 2. Put a mezuzah not only on your front door but on every door throughout the house (p. 999) 3. Check your mezuzah. If you got it as a gift from your bank, you can be sure it’s not kosher 4. Do the ritual hand-washing in the morning upon arising (p. 5) 5. Wear a tallit (p. 13) 6. Put on tefillin (p. 17) 7. Wear a kippah every once in a while, even if you’re not in shul or at Levinson’s 8. Extend loans to others 9. Give ma’aser (tithes)—10% of your earnings—to tzedakah

BLESSINGS

10. Recite a blessing before eating food (p. 975, 995) 11. Recite a blessing after eating food (p. 995-997) 12. Recite Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals) after eating bread (p. 979) 13. Recite a blessing upon smelling aromatic spices (p. 1001) 14. Recite the Asher Yatzar blessing after relieving yourself (p. 5) 15. Recite blessings in the morning on learning Torah for the day (p. 9) 16. Recite the morning blessings (p. 27-31) 17. Recite the appropriate blessing upon seeing lightning (p. 1001) 18. Recite the appropriate blessing upon hearing thunder (p. 1001) 19. Recite the appropriate blessing upon seeing a rainbow (p. 1003) 20. Recite Kiddush Levana—the blessing on the new moon (p. 715)

PRAYER

21. Read Rabbi Jonathan Sack’s wonderful introduction to the

Siddur (xv-xlvii) 22. Work on praying with more devotion 23. Do not talk in shul 24. Say the Shema before sleep at night (p. 295) 25. Pray for others who are sick (informally, or on p. 1045, 1242) 26. Read Tehillim (Psalms for special occasions can be found on p. 1242) 27. Recite Kaddish (p. 1067) 28. Complete a shiva minyan

TORAH

29. Learn one of the 24 books of Tanach 30. Learn the laws of Shabbat and/or Kashrut 31. Read Maimonides’ 13 Principles of Jewish Faith (p. 203) 32. Try learning the Daf Yomi - a page of Talmud a day 33. Find a good Torah podcast and listen to it 34. Come to shul and hear the Torah reading 35. Purchase and read a Jewish book 36. Read Pirkei Avot—Ethics of the Fathers (p. 641) 37. Learn a halacha a day for a month (laws for daily learning can be found on p. 1211-1236) 38. Learn about the different kashrut certification symbols 39. Learn how to read from the Torah 40. Learn how to read the Haftarah 41. Learn a mussar work—a Jewish book on self-improvement 42. Learn the weekly Torah portion

SHABBAT

43. Help prepare the house for Shabbat 44. Purchase a special tallit for Shabbat 45. Refrain from speaking about business on Shabbat 46. Bake challah for Shabbat 47. Leave off your cell phone on Shabbat 48. Light the Shabbat candles (p. 307) 49. Sing Shalom Aleichem on Friday night (p. 375) 50. Sing Eshet Chayil on Friday night (p. 379) 51. Bless your children/grandchildren on Friday night (p. 373) 52. Recite Friday evening Kiddush (p. 383) 53. Prepare a dvar Torah for the Friday night meal 54. Sing Shabbat songs—zemirot—during Shabbat meals (p. 385, 583, 687) 55. Recite the Shabbat morning kiddush (p. 581) 56. Eat Seudah Shelishit, the third meal, on Shabbat afternoon (p. 685) 57. Do Havdallah (p. 725)

HOLIDAYS

58. Purchase special food and/or clothing for Yom Tov 59. Set aside eruv tavshilin prior to a Yom Tov that falls on

Thursday or Friday in order to cook on Yom Tov for the upcoming Shabbat (p. 305) 60. Take off from work on both days of Yom Tov 61. Light the Yom Tov candles (p. 307) 62. Come to shul for Yizkor (p. 797) 63. Eat the special simanim symbols on Rosh Hashanah night 64. Hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah 65. Do Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah afternoon (p. 883) 66. Fast on Yom Kippur 67. Attend services on Yom Kippur—from beginning to end 68. Build a sukkah or help someone else build a sukkah 69. Spend extra time in the sukkah learning and chatting with friends and family 70. Purchase and shake a lulav and etrog 71. Say Hallel on Rosh Chodesh and the holidays (p. 733) 72. Light the Chanukah menorah… all eight nights! (p. 897) 73. Hear the Megillah reading on Purim 74. Send mishloach manot on Purim—at least two food items to one person 75. Send matanot la’evyonim on Purim—monetary gifts—to at least two people 76. Eat a special meal—a seudah—on Purim afternoon 77. Remove chametz from your house prior to Pesach 78. Purchase shmurah matzah for the Pesach Seder 79. Attend a Pesach Seder 80. Count the Omer between Pesach and Shavuot (p. 285) 81. Attend a Torah class on Shavuot 82. Fast on Tisha B'Av 83. Fast on minor Jewish fast days

ISRAEL & COMMUNITY

84. Join AIPAC and come to its conference 85. Purchase an Israel Bond and give one to your grandchildren on their birthdays and special occasions 86. Support The Associated 87. Support Jewish charities such as Jewish Caring Network,

Ahavas Yisroel, and Friends of the IDF

HOLINESS

88. Do the ritual hand-washing before eating bread (p. 975) 89. Learn about and be careful to not speak lashon hara (evil speech) 90. Wait between eating meat and milk 91. Eat only kosher meat 92. Eat only kosher fish 93. Dip new dishes and utensils in the mikvah (p. 1001)

SPIRITUALITY

94. Meditate for a short time each day for a month 95. Thank Hashem for something new each day for a month 96. Do teshuva—find something you need to correct and change your ways 97. Apologize to others for things you did wrong 98. Download a siddur app onto your phone 99. Download a Torah app onto your phone 100.Fill in your own mitzvah! _____________________________

_________________________________________________ Prepared by Rabbi Dr. Eli Yoggev

Centennial Updates continued from p. 11

in infancy studies from The Schwartz program at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Here at BT, Shani teaches Middle School Hebrew language classes, and adult education classes through Mercaz, and also facilitates the women’s parshah class on Shabbat morning. Most recently, Matan focused on working with students with learning disabilities and as a trainer for teachers as they progress through their internships. Matan is an advocate for advancing the teaching culture in Israel and has served as an advisor to a member of Knesset and the Ministry of Religious Services as well. He earned his B.A. in education from the Lifshitz College and his M.A. in administration policy and leadership in education from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is now teaching Hebrew language and Jewish history in our high school, delivering Divrei Torah in shul, and teaching adult education classes. The Sheflers will also be an important part of our shul programming, infusing Israeli culture into our community. We are thrilled to welcome these talented new professionals into our Beth Tfiloh community and look forward to watching their innovative ideas enhance our shul and school. This centennial year is an extraordinary milestone for our BT family and as we enter into it, we are grateful for all we’ve been able to experience together and excited beyond measure for all that is yet to come.