A couple summers ago (the summer before The Pandemic, to be specific), I signed up for an eight-week marriage course. A friend had highly recommended it, and I was looking forward to it. Marriage is like a plant: You need to take care of it for it to thrive, but, like a plant (at least… Continue reading Creating A Deeper Connection In Your Marriage
So, in case you missed it, we’re at home. And so are a whole lot of people here in Cleveland. For the first two days that we were home (and especially after zoom officially started, when our school closed), I found myself falling back into the familiar routine of ping-ponging around my house, taking care… Continue reading How To Cope With Zoom 2.0
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
“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
He (Rabbi Tarfon) used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, neither are you at liberty to neglect it. Pirkei Avos 2:16 Today I had planned to go out on my biweekly shopping trip. I’m doing my best to keep my shopping (and, indeed, all my going out of the house)… Continue reading One Thing At A Time
ETA: The following thoughts and ideas are not applicable if a person if suffering from severe depression or anxiety. Sometimes, simply thinking good or focusing one’s thoughts on the good is not enough. In those cases, where there is a chemical imbalance or other factors that affect emotional health and stability, therapy and medication are… Continue reading You Are What You Think
“Man should rather jump into a fiery furnace than offend another in public.” -Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai Today is Lag B’Omer. Bonfires, bows and arrows, music (MUSIC!), haircuts, weddings, celebration. This is the day that the students of Rabbi Akiva stopped dying in the plague. Today is the yahrzeit of the Rashbi, Rabbi Shimon Bar… Continue reading Rabbi Shimon’s Good Advice
“One who exerts himself on Erev Shabbos will be able to eat on Shabbos. But if not, what will he eat?” (Avodah Zara 3a, Rashi) Every week, we make Shabbos. We’re supposed to plan for it the whole week long, in some small way each day. Washing the tablecloth, the napkins, planning a menu, shopping, making the food.… Continue reading Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail
Rivki Silver ~ thoughts & music 