Meanwhile, my stomach hurts because I overate from a publicity sample of mints—Rabbi Mints Classic Kosher Mints to be exact, which according to the best superlative press release I’ve ever seen, is “a breakthrough in the branded kosher mint category,” and—and this does cause me physical pain—“meets the “cool Jew” trend that has become an urban phenomenon.”

On the other hand, the mints ($2.50 a tin) are pretty good, they’re kosher, and I’ve noticed an uptick in the amount of time my coworkers are willing to linger by my desk—but more importantly 15 percent of the profits go to AJWS. So those incapable of fasting for more then 25 hours can do their part too.

Why We’re Fasting [NYT]
Related: Jews Biking For the Environment

Ruth Messinger, President of the American Jewish World Service.

I would bring as my guests a group of people whose conversations I would like to hear: A loan recipient from Haiti; a woman farmer without land title from Pakistan; a health organizer from Kenya; a Darfur refugee in Chad; a human rights activist from Uganda; and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel to talk with all of them, learn from them, teach them, and help them in their efforts to change and heal the world.

Rob Kutner, comedy writer.
When I was asked to describe my “Soul Booth,” at first I thought it was a pitch for a new Wayans Brothers movie. But upon further reflection (not a lot, but further), I began to picture it: It’s a temporary structure for the soul, just like the one mine resides in now—right down to the weedy, increasingly thin cover on top. Dangling above me are the sweet goals I still reach for every day: Kindness, compassion, repair of my world, mindfulness, and gratitude. The walls are of man-made material and protect me from the winds of circumstance, but there’s always a doorway open to change and challenge. Decorating them are children’s drawings of my younger, purer self—the more passionate, idealistic spark I struggle to fit into my jaded old todayness. Last but not least is the ground tarp: Because let’s face it—my soul is one messy place.

Having done the Ride last year, I can offer this year’s participants a little bit of advice. Namely: Train. I wish I had. I rode nearly 100 miles over two days, despite having spent just a few hours in the saddle over the prior 16 years. As a result, everyone pedaled faster than I did, including Ruth Messinger. Yes, the former Manhattan borough president (and current head of the American Jewish World Service) has been a longtime supporter of Hazon. Reader, I ate her dust.

Messinger, who now heads the American Jewish World Service—a kind of Jewish peace corps that runs humanitarian projects in developing countries—went on to argue that the ever-expanding array of volunteer programs designed to build Jewish identity through community service can only succeed if they provide concrete benefits to needy people. In other words, they have to be authentic service programs, and not make-work designed to foster a fuzzy tikkun olam experience. “I want, as Jewish service grows, to be sure that it pays respect to the Jewish notion that we have responsibility to others,” Messinger told the audience. “We have to focus on beneficiaries’ needs, not on the need of the volunteers to feel Jewish, or to get something on their college applications.”

Berman Jewish Policy Archive [BJPA]