A few months ago, back when the weather was still decent and people were walking around, an acquaintance of mine who lives nearby was out taking a Shabbos walk with some of her children. I happened to be outside my house at the time and we were making pleasant small talk, and she mentioned to… Continue reading Shabbos Candle Lighting Challenge
I’ve noticed something recently. There are a lot, and I mean, a lot, of selfies on Instagram. I know it’s always been that way, but just lately it’s really stood out to me. And I get it, it’s a photo-based platform and sometimes you want to say something and just don’t have a pic, and… Continue reading To Selfie, Or Not To Selfie
It was sad news to receive, coming out of Shabbos, that Rabbi Sacks had passed away. It is a loss for the world. I was a latecomer to Rabbi Sacks’ – I was only introduced to his Torah a couple years ago, at most. But even though my knowledge of his greatness was relatively shallow,… Continue reading Remembering Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
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
Rivki Silver ~ thoughts & music 