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

by Linda Cohen

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580053655
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	10/18/2011
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 5.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

After graduating high school, Linda Cohen left her New England home to study for one year in Israel, where she found a strong connection to her Jewish identity. She returned to the United States to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Jewish studies from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, after which she received a master’s degree from Brandeis University in Jewish communal service. Since then, she has been both a professional and a lay leader in the Jewish community.

In the years prior to having children, Cohen volunteered on her synagogue board of directors, was a docent for the local Japanese garden, answered phones for her local public television station, and delivered meals for homebound seniors. Since having children, most of her volunteer time has been devoted to child-centered organizations, including working with the PTO at their school and serving on the board of directors for their summer camp. As a lifelong volunteer, she actively encourages people to discover the benefits of being in service to others.

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher

In her debut, Cohen recounts her experiences performing a variety of good deeds.

The author commenced her plan to carry out 1,000 mitzvahs, or acts of kindness, as a way of honoring her late father's memory and coping with her loss. While the traditional meaning of the word "mitzvah" alludes to "statements and principles of Jewish law and ethics contained in the Torah," Cohen writes from a secular standpoint, inviting readers of all faiths to embrace an altruistic approach to life. An active wife and mother of two, the author demonstrates that performing acts of kindness does not require excessive time or money, and the rewards for the giver and receiver are priceless. Organized categorically rather than by sequence of events, Cohen shares details of mitzvahs she's bestowed upon a variety of recipients, including charity organizations, pets, those in mourning and the environment. Her preludes to each category of mitzvahs provide thoughtful perspectives on life. However, because her mitzvahs are grouped by common theme, Cohen's anecdotes at times can blend together without distinction. On other occasions, the author takes herself a bit too seriously, describing a lighthearted mitzvah such as replacing toilet paper in a public bathroom as an act that can "prevent another person from having to experience this extremely vulnerable and helpless situation."

An endearing reminder that small gestures can often go a long way.

Kirkus Reviews