On Nov. 4, nearly 600 volunteers ranging from 3 year-olds to those well in their 80s gathered collectively on Pierce Street in Pacoima to build, paint, landscape, make crafts and build computer desks for the less-fortunate families who reside there.

The volunteers volunteered at the Habitat for Hujmanity project.

It was amazing to see so many people of all ages work so hard together to make a nicer living environment for others. Temple Judea members and staff were also joined by members and staff from Valley Beth Shalom, Stephen S. Wise, New Jewish Community High School, Ahavat Shalom and Heschel.

Also, there to lend a helping hand was Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, who said, "It was great to see such a large turnout for Mitzvah Day, which is just such a wonderful tradition. There were so many families out there devoting time to helping those less fortunate, and I was very proud to have been a part of it all."

The buses arrived at the site at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday and stayed until past 2 p.m. to complete the job. A tremendous amount of work was accomplished in those 5-1/2 hours. The project also provided over $3,000 in supplies and materials to the existing homeowners and future residents.

Mitzvah Day was actually part of a whole week of giving at Temple Judea -- Mitzvah Week - from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4. Throughout the week, the children in the Temple Judea Religious School packed backpacks full of school supplies and donated them to School on Wheels for children of homeless families in the Los Angeles area.

Families contributed to the school supplies that were put in the backpacks. This part of the project was led by Rabbi Bruce Raff, director of the religious school.

The Mitzvah Day Committee was primarily made up of members from the Temple Judea Ethical Action Committee. The co-chairs of the committee are Temple Judea members Ellen Opell and Robin Kellogg, who did an outstanding job in organizing such a large group of volunteers in doing such a large variety of tasks.

Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Judea was the key coordinator of the project from the senior staff at Temple Judea and came up with the idea to do one community project at Habitat for Humanity and convinced Ellen and Robin that it would work.

Robin Kellogg said, "I was pleased, amazed, astonished, and grateful that Mitzvah Day turned out as well as it did, and the turnout was just unbelievable." Temple Judea's Rabbi Don Goor, Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot and Rabbinical Intern Daniel Mikelberg also played instrumental roles.

Rabbi Goor added his thoughts of the day, "Judaism has always taught us that it takes work to build community. Mitzvah Day was a tremendously exciting day which reminded everyone that to be a part of community means pitching in and working together."

There will be a post-Mitzvah Day debriefing on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Temple Judea Tarzana campus. Temple Judea plans a return to the Habitat for Humanity Pacoima site in the spring to continue the work on the new homes.

Moskovitz summed up the day with these beautiful words, "Jewish tradition teaches that Peace in the Home is one of our greatest commandments. Of course, incumbent in that is actually having a home. We came together to bring wholeness - another way to translate Shalom - to these families and, in the process, they gave us a sense of Shalom - wholeness and peace as well."