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
“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
A couple Shabboses ago my husband and I had a discussion about what it means to fulfill your potential. I always think big REALLY BIG (though, honestly, not so super big) and so if I’m not doing something that’s reaching a lot of people I feel like I’m not doing all I can. But then we… Continue reading Filling Up Our Cardboard Boxes
Life moves quickly. I was just making Shabbos and now it’s already time to clean up. I was just getting married and now it’s been over five years. My oldest was just born and now he’s a preschooler. It was just Shavuos and now it’s Rosh Chodesh Tammuz. It can be dizzying. But there are… Continue reading Capturing the Memories Before They Fly By
Every Friday slightly before sundown, I light five candles. One for me, one for my husband and one for each of my children. I cover my eyes and say a blessing, and with that action, usher in 25 hours of rejuvenation, connection and rest. It’s like a spiritual spa every week. And boy, do I… Continue reading Top Five Reasons to Keep Shabbos
Having guests is a big mitzvah. We learn in the Talmud that it’s one of the few mitzvos that we can enjoy the fruits of in this world, yet the principle is still intact in the World to Come. So it’s kind of a big deal. It can be inspiring, enjoyable, entertaining. But what happens when… Continue reading Having Guests – A Pleasure or a Pain?
This is the first year we’re staying home for the entire Pesach. A couple years ago, we went to my in-laws for the first days and came back chol hamoed, hosting my in-laws for the second half of Yom Tov (they are easy guests AND helped cook, so it was actually pretty fantastic). I don’t recommend… Continue reading Menu Planning for Pesach!
For the second week in a row, I have found myself without any new reading material for Shabbos. Since those wintry Friday nights are so long, it’s a great pleasure of mine to curl up with a blanket and a book (and maybe some cookies). Lately, though, I’ve been stymied by my own lack of… Continue reading The unexpected perks of not having reading material
We didn’t live near any relatives when I was growing up, and since my mother doesn’t particularly enjoy cooking (I think her motto is something like “cook to survive”), Thanksgiving wasn’t ever a big to-do for us. However, when my family moved to St. Louis twelve years ago, we found ourselves close to family, and… Continue reading Our Thanksgiving Shabbos Tradition
I’ve been doing some thinking about my menu planning. While I do love the monthly planning concept, I found that I usually didn’t make at least one meal from the plan per week. That resulted in a lot of leftover ingredients. Also, I didn’t feel like I was utilizing the ingredients I have on hand… Continue reading Menu Plan for November 2-12
Rivki Silver ~ thoughts & music 