The members of Mizmor Shir, Harvard's Jewish a cappella group, don't just sing this biblical description of God's lovingkindness. They try to live by it, too.

Jewish a cappella singing groups are sprouting up on campuses across the country. More than thirty collegiate Jewish a cappella groups now exist, and the number is still growing. While these groups are changing the world of Jewish music, Mizmor Shir has made a further commitment: using Jewish music to change the world.

"Tikkun olam--making the world a better place--is really the heart and soul of Mizmor Shir," says Rachel Friedman, who sang with Mizmor Shir for four years, including a two-year stint as director. "It's what makes us tick."

The sixteen-member singing group has grown tremendously in quality and popularity in recent years. The "Mizmos" maintain a busy performance schedule. They have toured up and down the East Coast, placed in an international collegiate a cappella competition, and are preparing to release their second CD this fall.

However, throughout this exciting time of growth, Mizmor Shir has maintained an ongoing commitment to using its music to do good in the world, rather than simply aspiring to become more professional. "Mitzvah gigs"--free or reduced fee performances emphasizing tikkun olam--form a regular part of Mizmor Shir's performance schedule. Through these performances, the group strives to make the world a better place while sharing the joy of Jewish music and a cappella singing with both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.

For example, in March 1999 Mizmor Shir performed at the Elwyn Institute outside Philadelphia, a combined residence, school, and workplace for people with mental disabilities. Group member Jessica Gordon volunteered regularly at the Elwyn Institute throughout high school. Returning there to perform with Mizmor Shir fulfilled a dream for Jessica. "It was great to see the residents again," she recalls, "but returning to Elwyn with my Mizmor Shir family made the visit especially sweet. I can't imagine a more meaningful way of connecting my high school and college service lives."

Other recent mitzvah gigs have included performances at holiday celebrations sponsored by Boston's Jewish Family & Children's Services and at local nursing homes. Gavri Rosen remembers singing with Mizmor Shir at a Purim party for Boston-area Jews living with AIDS: "I looked around at fellow Mizmor Shir members and at all the audience members who were singing along," Gavri recalls, "and I felt an almost tangible sense of the power of music to unite and to heal."

Sometimes the main purpose of a mitzvah gig is to educate. Mizmor Shir has led singing workshops at synagogues in small Jewish communities like Newport News, Virginia. The Mizmos have also brought their music and lessons in Jewish culture to a variety of young audiences, not only to Hebrew schools and day schools, but also to elementary schools and branches of the Boston public library.

In February 2001, Mizmor Shir took the mitzvah gig concept to a new level. Troubled by the escalation of violence in the Middle East, the Mizmos organized a benefit concert called "Growing Harmony." Mizmor Shir donated $3000 in proceeds to Seeds of Peace. a summer camp in Maine that brings Arab and Israeli teenagers together to learn leadership and conflict resolution skills. Plans for another benefit concert this coming year are underway.

The Mizmos also use their music to do good closer to home. This past fall, when a group member's father was ill, members of Mizmor Shir traveled to his house for a surprise get-well performance. Even between rehearsals and performances, the members of Mizmor Shir strive to support one another personally and spiritually. Such a supportive community can be hard to find at a large, impersonal university.

The Mizmos hope other collegiate singing groups will adopt their emphasis on tikkun olam. "People always comment on how energetic we are on stage--on how enjoyable it is to see and hear us perform," says Ethan Merlin, Mizmor Shir's current director. "Knowing that we are doing good actually helps us sing and perform better. Improving our performance and improving the world go hand in hand."

Jewish singing groups, in particular, have reason to take the Mizmor Shir model to heart, explains Joelle Novey, who has sung with Mizmor Shir for four years. "You can sing in Hebrew, or sing biblical texts, and say you're singing Jewish music," she says. "But what really makes Mizmor Shir's music Jewish is that the sixteen students who sing it strive to exemplify Jewish community at its best. Our music is Jewish because we bring our songs into the world as a part of a larger commitment to connecting with people, especially those who might otherwise be left out. In the end, it's Jewish music because we sing it in a spirit of chesed, or compassion, for one another and for others."

For more information about Mizmor Shir, to order the group's upcoming CD "Six Days Working," or to schedule a performance, please e-mail mizmo@hcs.harvard.edu.

In addition to directing Mizmor Shir, Ethan Merlin is a senior at Harvard University where he studies religion and philosophy. He has been singing, rehearsing, performing, laughing, and traveling with the Mizmos since his arrival at Harvard more than three years ago.