2018: 52 Weeks of Mitzvot at Midbar Kodesh Temple

In January, Midbar Kodesh Temple will kick off "52 Weeks of Mitzvot" that will, each week, introduce the congregation to different Social Action and Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) projects that they can learn about and support with time or donations. The congregation will celebrate this year-long gift of giving that will enhance their own lives and that of the community, and the projects that need attention.

On January 26-28 Midbar Kodesh Temple will welcome author Linda Cohen as a scholar in residence to share her thoughts on this very subject.

Much has been written on how participating in Acts of Loving Kindness and Repairing the World, no matter how large or how small, is healing and transformational. Cohen will use her book "1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire and Change Your Life" as the central point of the weekend. Midbar's projects at the first of the year will include working at the community garden, preparing backpacks of food for the Clark County School District Project Hope, and hosting a blood drive. The congregation just ended 2017 by helping out at Opportunity Village's Magical Forest as volunteers on Christmas Eve.

Ms. Cohen will speak on the subjects of volunteerism, parenting and mitzvot and make a call to arms for those who would like to follow in her footsteps with their own good deeds and acts of kindness. The weekend is sponsored in part by a grant from the David L. Simon Foundation.

Cohen, who speaks around the country encouraging people to make a difference by building a better world is originally from the east coast and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Visit Linda Cohen at http://www.1000mitzvahs.com. Her book can be purchased on line at http://a.com/4wZHGYb.

More information can be found about the projects each week at www.midbarkodesh.org/52Mitzvot.