What’s in a name? Rivki Silver – Thoughts & Music sounds nice, but as month after month went by and it was all thoughts and no music, I wondered if it was time to take out the “Music” part of my blog’s name. But being a musician is so deeply ingrained in my personality, in… Continue reading Avinu Malkeinu
Good Chodesh everyone! It’s Rosh Chodesh Elul, so you know what that means……ANOTHER YEAR OF QUICK THOUGHTS FOR ELUL! That makes six years of this video series, for those of you keeping track. Let’s dive right in. Today is technically the last day of the month of Av, but it’s also the first day of… Continue reading Quick Thoughts For Elul Returns!
The entire purpose of our existence is to overcome our negative habits. -Vilna Gaon If you have been paying attention at all to what I’ve been writing about for the last decade or so, you’ll know that this is, hands down, my favorite part of Judaism. So many tools and resources to improve myself. It’s… Continue reading The Meaning Of Life
“I feel burnout comes as a result of consistent over-simulation.” -Dinesh Paliwal Raise your hand if you are feeling really, really tired of the new normal. I’m trying to write this post as my baby is fussing in her high chair and my five-year-old is actively leaning against me, asking for the umpteenth time if… Continue reading How To Combat Burnout
I have loved this verse (or, more specifically, this section of verse) from Mishlei (Proverbs), because of its validation about how failing is not only okay, it’s almost expected. To be a righteous person, a Tzaddik, is kind of what we should be striving to be, and here this verse is telling us that we… Continue reading Why Failure Is Good
“Naaseh v’Nishma” -Am Yisrael There’s a famous midrash that talks about how G-d went to all the nations of the world and offered them the Torah, and they all asked, “well, what’s in it?” This seems like a reasonable reaction, right? You should read a contract before you sign it. But after they found out… Continue reading All In
To all my fellow perfectionists out there, I come to tell you that when you release yourself from your impossible expectations, it really, really, really helps. Of course, I have to constantly remind myself to do this, because I naturally slip back into my desire to do everything in the best way possible. But I’ve… Continue reading Perfect Is The Enemy Of A Lot Of Things
“Shavuot … is a calling to bring transcendence and spirituality into this world. We don’t aim to escape this world, we aim to transform it.” Rabbi Shmuel Reichman One of the things that most appealed to me when I was first learning about Judaism was the way it touched every aspect of life. Something as commonplace as… Continue reading Why My Laundry Is Holy
Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands. Anne Frank When I am having a bad day, making many parenting mistakes, despairing of the example I’m setting, this quote gives me encouragement. When I am feeling proud… Continue reading Out Of Our Hands
Anger is a normal reaction to any number of life challenges. Injustice, disappointment, insult, injury, the general unfairness of things, having to deal with rude people, I could go on. But while anger is a normal reaction, holding onto it is basically always bad for us (I’m sure there are times it can be channeled… Continue reading Let It Go
