I’m turning 50 in a year and I have thought long and hard about the question, “What do you want to do for your 50th?”  Do I want a party?  Jewelry?  Fun experiences with my friends?  Yes, all of those things are terrific.  But what would be most meaningful to me is to spend the last year of my 40s making other people smile.  I am committed to doing 50 mitzvot or good deeds or acts of kindness, before I turn 50.  I will record them here.  This blog is mainly for myself, to keep a record and to keep me accountable.

I find that there are many mitzvot that I repeat – baking challah for friends, visiting sick, shiva calls, CASA work.  However, this year I am making an effort to do 50 UNIQUE mitzvot, which makes this project much harder.  And much more rewarding.  It has forced me to think outside the box, to be very intentional about how I contribute to society, and to be creative.  It has resulted in me thinking EVERY SINGLE DAY about how I can perform a mitzvah and help someone else.  It’s stretched me in a way that I’m not used to being stretched.  And it has rewarded me in many ways that I did not anticipate.

A few thoughts along the way:

1.  One thing that is uncomfortable – many of the mitzvot are things that I would do anyway, I’m just “counting” them this year.  I don’t want anyone to think that the only reason I  . . . (made a shiva call, brought food to a sick person, etc) was so that I could add it to my list!  Some of the mitzvot were new, but many are just a reflection of who I am.
2. Some of the mitzvot are new, and I have repeated them now that I have done them for this project!  I have already given blood twice, given away many challot, and can’t seem to pass an expired meter without putting money in, because I found that I really enjoyed doing those things!
3. Some of my mitzvot are big (take more time to plan and execute) and some of them are small (no planning involved and take up very little time and effort).  To me, it doesn’t matter.  The point is that I’m thinking of being a charitable person all of the time, and I will count them, no matter how small, if I feel like I added something extra to someone else’s day.