The Mitzvah Project Book

Liz Suneby, Diane Heiman

Description

Make the world a better place through good deeds—big or small.

"Thank you, really, for devoting your energies to making the world just a little bit better. By doing so, you are saying to yourself, and to others, that this whole Bar/Bat Mitzvah thing is real and important. And, this book will help you figure out great ways to put your own passions, interests, and hobbies to work for mitzvah."
—from the Foreword

Are you searching for a meaningful and fun mitzvah project? This inspiring book is packed with ideas to help you connect something you love to a mitzvah project or tikkun olam initiative that you can be passionate about. It is filled with information, ideas and activities to spark your imagination, as well as a planning guide to get you organized and off to a good start.

Creativity and Compassion
Arts & Crafts • Clothes & Fashion • Computers & Technology • Food & Cooking • Movies & Drama • Reading & Writing

Putting Mitzvot in Motion
Animals • Camp • Fitness • Health • Music & Dance • Sports

Your World, Our World
Environment • Family • Friends, Neighbors & Your Community • Global Community • Israel • Your Jewish Heritage

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Flexing Your Mitzvah Muscle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
So Many Reasons to Help Others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Every Act of Kindness Counts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
How This Book Can Help You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Send Us Your Mitzvah Project Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Mitzvah Project Planning Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
Mitzvah Project Ideas
Real Kids, Real Mitzvot Stories & Journal Pages
Creativity and Compassion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Arts & Crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Clothes & Fashion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Computers & Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Food & Cooking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Movies & Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reading & Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Putting Mitzvot in Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Camp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Fitness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Music & Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Your World, Our World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Friends, Neighbors & Your Community . . . . . . . . . . 133
Global Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Jewish Heritage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Everyday Mitzvot: Eighteen Small Ideas That Are Big . . 177
Authors' Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
"LOL" Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Suggestions for Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Judaism
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 12 septembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580234986
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Mitzvah Project Book :
Making Mitzvah Part of Your Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Your Life
2011 Quality Paperback Edition, First Printing
2011 by Liz Suneby and Diane Heiman
Foreword by Jeffrey K. Salkin
Preface by Rabbi Sharon Brous
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request in writing to Jewish Lights Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address / fax number listed below, or e-mail your request to [e-mail] .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Suneby, Elizabeth, 1958-
The mitzvah project book: making mitzvah part of your bar/bat mitzvah and your life / Elizabeth Suneby Diane Heiman; foreword by Jeffrey K. Salkin; preface by Sharon Brous; Illustrations by Laurel Molk.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-58023-458-0 (quality pbk. original) 1. Bar mitzvah-Handbooks, manuals, etc.-Juvenile literature. 2. Bat mitzvah-Handbooks, manuals, etc.-Juvenile literature. 3. Jewish way of life-Juvenile literature. I. Heiman, Diane. II. Title.
BM707.2.S86 2011
296.4'424-dc23
2011021304
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover and Interior Design: Heather Pelham
Cover Art: Laurel Molk
For People of All Faiths, All Backgrounds
Published by Jewish Lights Publishing
A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc.
Sunset Farm Offices, Route 4, P.O. Box 237
Woodstock, VT 05091
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.jewishlights.com
For all the young people who shared their mitzvah projects with us and for my father, Sidney S. Barzman, who leads by example with kindness, integrity, and optimism. -DH
For Josh, my old soul; Emma, my muse; and Per, my biggest supporter. -LS
Contents


Foreword
Preface
Flexing Your Mitzvah Muscle
Getting Started
So Many Reasons to Help Others
Every Act of Kindness Counts
How This Book Can Help You
Send Us Your Mitzvah Project Story
Mitzvah Project Planning Guide
Mitzvah Project Ideas Real Kids, Real Mitzvot Stories Journal Pages
Creativity and Compassion
Arts Crafts
Clothes Fashion
Computers Technology
Food Cooking
Movies Drama
Reading Writing
Putting Mitzvot in Motion
Animals
Camp
Fitness
Health
Music Dance
Sports
Your World, Our World
Environment
Family
Friends, Neighbors Your Community
Global Community
Israel
Jewish Heritage
Everyday Mitzvot: Eighteen Small Ideas That Are Big
Authors Note
LOL Glossary
Suggestions for Further Reading
About Jewish Lights
Copyright
Foreword

Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin
This Note Is for You-the Kid Who Is Becoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah
I can only imagine that sometimes this whole thing feels rather scary-learning Hebrew; learning the Torah and haftarah portion; perhaps learning how to chant it all; and most likely, writing a d var Torah (sermonette). You may even be saying to yourself: OK, I m going through this event in my life, and, sure, I m going to be great. But really-two days or two weeks or two years after it s over, what difference will it have made to anyone besides me and my loved ones?
That s probably the best reason I know for you to do a mitzvah project. It guarantees that even and especially after the ceremony and the festivities are over, and even and especially after you ve completed your thank-you notes, your becoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah will mean something . And that s one of the most important reasons I wrote For Kids-Putting God on Your Guest List: How to Claim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Bar or Bat Mitzvah (Jewish Lights) for you. It means that in some small way, you did something that changed someone s life. In some small way, you repaired a broken piece of the world and made it whole.
I imagine what you might be thinking: It s not like I am going to cure AIDS or reverse global warming or end famine in Africa. Who am I, Bono? True, those tasks are way beyond any one person s ability (even Bono and every other celebrity who wants to make a difference).
But, as our tradition says, It s not up to you to complete the task. But neither are you allowed to try to get out of even starting it ( Pirke Avot 2:16). Thank you, really, for devoting your energies to making the world just a little bit better. By doing so, you are saying to yourself, and to others, that this whole Bar/Bat Mitzvah thing is real and important. And, this book will help you figure out great ways to put your own passions, interests, and hobbies to work for mitzvah.
This Is a Note for Your Parents, Rabbi, Cantor, Teacher, and Other Adults in Your Life
When my brother called to tell me that the old Huntington Town House on the north shore of Long Island had gone out of business and was being converted into a Best Buy, I knew that it was the end of an era. The Huntington Town House was the default Saturday afternoon address of my young adolescence, the overdone and garish location of countless over-the-top Bar Mitzvah celebrations of the 1960s and early 1970s. (I say Bar Mitzvah and not Bat Mitzvah deliberately; there were, alas, very few in those days.) I can honestly say that spending countless Saturday afternoons in poorly lit party spaces took its toll on our young lives. My peers and I emerged from those experiences not only seriously deprived of quality outdoor time, but also somewhat jaded about the whole enterprise.
It s all American Jewish folklore: the themes, the candlelighting ceremonies, the T-shirts that proclaim you attended Brian s Bar Mitzvah-not to mention the sheer expenditure of money .
But, as Bob Dylan (who turns seventy years old as I write this) famously sang, The times, they are a-changing. The quiet revolution in Jewish celebration started more than thirty years ago, with the creation of MAZON, A Jewish Response to Hunger, which asked families to give 3 percent of the cost of a simcha (celebration) to fighting world hunger. And then, many Jewish families started to twin with Soviet Jewish children.
As I encourage in Putting God on the Guest List: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child s Bar or Bat Mitzvah (Jewish Lights), Jewish families have begun to quietly yet firmly reject the culture of glitz that has often surrounded Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Instead, they want a different kind of celebration. They are no longer interested in their celebration being impressive ; they want it to be expressive of core Jewish values like mitzvah , tzedakah (charity), and tikkun olam (repairing the world).
For that reason alone, we should be grateful to Liz Suneby and Diane Heiman for this book. They have done an admirable job of coming up with ideas for mitzvah projects for Bar/Bat Mitzvah. And they have done so in a very enticing way. Their tone is conversational and personal, and they are adept at helping young people put their strengths to work for mitzvah.
Not only this: Liz and Diane subtly address one of the biggest challenges in all of our contemporary mitzvah work. They focus on the balance between particularism (what we do for the Jewish people) and universalism (what we do for others). They see no dichotomy; it s all in there, from helping people in your community to helping Israel. That s exactly how it should be: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? ( Pirke Avot 1:14).
I am personally and professionally grateful for this book, because when I start scratching my head, trying to come up with ideas for mitzvah projects for my students, it will be on my shelf and it will serve as a ready resource. Linguists say that every two weeks, a language becomes extinct. Liz and Diane have made sure that the native Jewish language of mitzvah and compassion will never become extinct.
Preface

Rabbi Sharon Brous
So what was your Bar Mitzvah theme? I asked.
I don t understand, he replied.
You know, your theme. Superheroes. The tropics. Cirque d Soliel. Cavemen. Mine was ice cream. Every table a different flavor, I said.
After a stupefied silence he replied, The theme of my Bar Mitzvah was Torah.
This is the first conversation I remember having with the cute redhead across the hall in my first-year dorm in college. Years later we got married, and he still occasionally ribs me about it. The Judaism I knew-embodied in my Bat Mitzvah experience-was about memorization, recitation, and ostentation, not learning, spiritual growth, and dedication. It took me years to realize that the real gift of the Bat Mitzvah was not the mountains of freshwater pearls, Israel bonds, or the themed party, but the voice, the vision, and the real responsibility that comes with being a Jew who engages deeply with Torah.
A Bar or Bat Mitzvah experience built around serious engagement with Torah necessarily cultivates and communicates a sense of responsibility. The goal is not to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, but to become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Your task is to learn deeply and emerge awake both to the brokenness of the world and to your responsibility to work toward its transformation.
Consider the midrash that tells of a traveler who notices a birah doleket -a palace consumed in flames. He is stunned by the sight and wonders: How can it be that nobody is taking care of this palace-that it is left to burn? Who is responsible for this place?
At that moment, the owner of the palace hears him and says, I am the owner of this place!
So, too, the midrash teaches, Abraham wonders, Is it possible that the world should just burn without someone working to save it? Who is responsible for this place?
And the Holy One hears him and says, I am the owner of this world! (Genesis Rabbah 39:1).
The Rabbis wonder what it is about Abraham tha