Before I begin, I do want to acknowledge the unsubtle plagiarism of the title of this post, but it just encapsulated the feeling perfectly. I woke up yesterday completely on the wrong side of the bed. I could not, as my mother suggested, simply get back in and make sure to get out on the… Continue reading Rivki’s No-Good, Very Bad, Awful Day
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 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
“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
Rivki Silver ~ thoughts & music 