1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire, and Change Your Life [Paperback]

Linda Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2011

When her father passed away in 2006, Linda Cohen’s busy life as a mother, wife, and entrepreneur came to a screeching halt. She took a spiritual sabbatical to work through her grief, and she came out of it resolved to embark upon a project: perform one thousand acts of kindness—mitzvahs—to honor her father’s memory.

1,000 Mitzvahs shares Cohen’s two-and-a-half-year journey from sorrow to inspiration through simple daily acts of kindness. She presents each mitzvah as a short vignette, and the myriad forms they take—from helping the elderly to donating to good causes to baking and collecting food for others—highlight the many ways in which one person can touch the lives of others. As she pursues her quest, Cohen finds that her life is improved by these small acts—that every time she goes out of her way to do something good for someone else, she enhances her own well-being.

More than a touching story of a daughter’s love for her father, 1,000 Mitzvahs is a testament to the transformational power of kindness, and a call to arms for those who would like to follow in Cohen’s footsteps with their own mitzvahs—no matter how large or how small.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One small deed can sometimes grow into a bigger one, and the author of 1000 Mitzvahs shows just how." —VIV Magazine


"Dealing with the death of a loved one is often a grueling and challenging process. But for Linda Cohen, the death of a family member became the inspiration for an intensive, meaningful, and spiritually uplifting journey to heal herself by reaching out to those around her." —JewishBoston.com


"The idea of Cohen’s book is to create a habit and a deliberate practice of small acts of kindness. This is the perfect way to begin the holiday season- to encourage your kids (and your spouse) to embrace a new focus of giving this season that will hopefully stick as a lifelong way of being. Especially when times are economically challenging for so many as they are now, every small act of kindness and sharing has an impact beyond our own imagining." —Gina Caroll, The Houston Chronical


"Scientific studies suggest that that doing mitzvot makes subjects feel better and, by the end, Cohen felt that her project [1,000 Mitvahs] had indeed improved her physical and mental health during the period of grieving, while also making her a more conscious person overall." —The Jewish Daily, FORWARD


"From sharing your umbrella with a stranger to rescuing a lost dog to letting go of an old grudge, [1,000 Mitzvahs] serves as a compendium of ideas for making tikkun olam and tzedakah tangible, and as a call to action for those who are unsure where to start." —j. The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press; Original edition (October 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580053653
• ISBN-13: 978-1580053655
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Changing your life one small act at a time... January 9, 2012

By Thomas Duff HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

One of my goals/resolutions for 2012 is to incorporate intentional acts of kindness as a regular part of my daily life. About the same time I committed to that, I ran across this title that became available at our library... 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire, and Change Your Life by Linda Cohen. What perfect timing... This gave me some ideas and inspiration for things I could do above and beyond the "say something nice to someone" efforts. It also caused me to think outside of the more traditional person-oriented acts of kindness.

Contents:
Food For The Body, Nourishment For The Soul (food); Change The Toilet Paper (paying it forward); Volunteer With A Vengeance (volunteer work); Clear The Clutter (donations); Dollars And Sense (money); Slow Down (driving); My Home Away From Home (synagogue-related mitzvahs); The Reusable Bag Lady (environmental conscience); In The Doghouse (animals); What Goes Around Comes Around (teachable family moments); Expressions Of Gratitude (a hundred ways to say thank you); Blow Out The Candles (birthdays); Do Unto Others (thought, speech, and action); Oh, The Places We'll Go (traveling and vacations); The Final Good-bye (death and grieving); Resources; List of Charities

Ms. Cohen lost her father in 2006, and people were asked to donate to a small group of charities in his name as a mitzvah of tzedakah (donating money in someone's memory to a charity). This mitzvah, or blessing in English, prompted her to start thinking about beginning her own mitzvah project. That idea turned into her 1000 Mitzvahs project (with a .org website of the same name). This project, while outwardly focused on others, also helped her deal with the emotions and grief of her father's death. She found that by giving kindness to others, she also changed her entire perspective on life and the role she could play in the lives of others.

Fortunately, the book doesn't try and list all 1000 mitzvahs that are covered on her blog site. Instead, she has grouped a number of them into basic categories that give you an idea of the types of things you can do in various parts of your life. Some might not be applicable to your situation (such as synagogue-related mitzvahs), but it doesn't take much effort to apply those same activities and actions to similar groups that do align with your life. For me, it was interesting to see how acts of kindness could be done in situations that weren't people-oriented. One example was asking for a regular cup when going into Starbucks to have a coffee that would be consumed on-site. Why use paper resources and generate waste if there is no need to? Another example was donating pet supplies to a local animal shelter. Yes, kindness to animals is definitely worthy of pursuit, but it wasn't something that I had connected to my own efforts.

1,000 Mitzvahs is a good book to read regardless of your particular religious (or non-religious) affiliations. You won't relate to every one of the acts she describes, as some won't be applicable to your current life situations. But there are more than enough other mitzvahs you can learn from and incorporate into your own life. It might even motivate you to start your own personal "daily acts of kindness" project. It's a given that you'll make the world a little better, and you'll also change yourself in the process.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired by YOU!!! December 2, 2011

By Kristen Moeller

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

After hearing you speak at TEDx Crestmoor Park women last night, I said YES to your call to action - a journey of 1000 Mitzvah's! I signed up because of YOU! You inspired me deeply. Your message was authentic and powerful - straight from the heart. I also signed up to take the challenge to get out of MY head - as a "recovering" self-help junkie, too often I can be my worst critic. Even though I teach self-acceptance to others', I often forget it for myself. I find that by being of service, I am most at peace. Thank you for the opportunity.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource. November 28, 2011

By Maxine Kaufman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is great book with many valuable ideas to help in
leading a life filled with kindness. I'm happy to have
it in my library.