If you look down through the right sidebar of my blog, you’ll see a “badge” proclaiming that I am a member of NaBloPoMo – and you are probably wondering what that is!
NaBloPoMo is a group of bloggers who commit to posting a blog every day for a month. Yikes! My days are normally too busy to do anything like that, but I managed to do it in January, 2009. You can check those out by starting here.
So I may be totally crazy, but I’m going to do this again in December, 2009. I’ll have more time than during the semester!
Each month we are given a theme and for the month of December, the theme is MITZVAH. I am not Jewish by faith, although I have a Jewish friend who claims we are all Jewish! I have attended several Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations in the past. I also watched many young men going through their Bar Mitzvah at the Wailing Wall of the old Temple in Jerusalem. The photo above is one I took while there a few years ago on my first visit to the lands they call Holy.
The best meaning for Mitzvah I can find is that it means “to express an act of human kindness.” What a wonderful theme for this time of year! I think our world needs as many acts of human kindness as we can provide, so I’ll do my share!
Feel free to check my blog every day this month of December. I will continue to do the Wednesday food post and my Saturday post on a variety of topics. In between, I will offer a short thought that will reflect on ways we can express human kindness.
As I started writing this, I typed “ploggers” instead of “bloggers.” Maybe that’s what blogging is all about – just “plogging” along at something we enjoy, whether anyone reads it or not. Please feel free to share this with friends who may not have found me yet!
A hui hou!
I thought a Mitzvah was the reciept of a something that was good and thought of as a blessing? Oy, what do I know?!
We are all Jewish. I like that thought. A core to lean on, as we creatively expand into other flavors. A sort of evolutionary Monotheism. Ahh!
I think Mitzvah also means receiving a blessing. From what I am told by my Jewish friends, it means a variety of things – all good! It’s sort of like our Aloha, don’t you think? Can mean more than just one thing. Thanks so much for commenting!
Aloha,
Lucy
Pumpkin pie, pachucos and mitzvah – what an eclectic assortment of postings – EXACTLY why I love reading your blog and will happily do so daily. I worked for a number of years for Luis Valdez and his El Teatro Campesino here in San Juan Bautista, CA. His play, Zoot Suit, is brilliant and the movie of it was one of Edward James Olmos first star turns. It’s available on DVD if you haven’t seen it, check it out. A young Tyne Daly stars in it as well.
The eclectic nature of my blog is what keeps me doing it. I am a full-time instructor for our Hawaii Community College and sometimes get bogged down in grades and lectures. Being creative with my blog is a wonderful outlet for me! Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting! I’ll need to look for “Zoot Suit!” 🙂
Aloha,
Lucy