This week I started to play mahjong. I most definitely have an overly romantic notion of mahjong but I definitely wanted to learn it. I started my lessons this week (tutor: 80-year-old woman) and it felt a bit like being lost in Wonderland, where everyone else understands some kind of inscrutable logic you can only weakly follow… So what …
My friends are so wise, so I wanted to share another bit of advice one of them gave me. I was telling her about something I started doing every week that costs a fair bit and is making a tangible difference in my life. She said: “If something is working, keep doing it.” As in: if debriefing with …
Last year I had written about how it can be hard to figure out who I am and to define myself in terms of spirituality and different standards. My guess is that this is a hard topic for many people. I have some thoughts… (Just want to say, it’s hard to use specific examples as there are nuances in …
My friend sent me an excerpt from “Risk Factor” by Rabbi Yosef Bensoussan, which appeared in the February 5th edition of Mishpacha. I thought it was amazing, just reading it gave me the chills: Quiet. Then sniffling. Then tears. A lot of tears. “It’s so much pressure!” she yelled. “Everyone keeps asking why I’m not married yet. It’s like …
Most (if not all) of us have met or worked with professional shadchanim over the years. I personally have done quite a bit of that, and I’ve had…a variety of experiences. (Don’t get me wrong; some of them have been wonderful). I’ve had this post in the works for a while but I’m finally putting it up here. These …
Happy Tu B’Shvat! Today we are celebrating the new year for the trees — but they don’t seem to be changing. And outwardly, they’re not. As you may have learned in school, what we’re really celebrating is the sap’s rising, which will eventually nurture the trees into all their spring glory. But we’ve a while yet… For the human …
It’s the end of the week and I haven’t posted anything. I’m tired. And I don’t want to leave this space too quiet because I don’t like that, when blogs I follow go quiet, so I’m just letting you know that I’m tired. I have schoolwork that has to get done. I’m trying to stay on top …
Chavi commented that it would be helpful if I’d write a review of the books I read, and I decided that that would be fun for me, too 🙂 . I have to say, this was a great reading month. Below are some comments about the books I read. Physical books were from the library, audiobooks via Hoopla. The …
As I’ve picked up a few more magazines than usual in the past several months, I couldn’t help but notice certain determined little advertisements denouncing the people who are “causing the shidduch crisis” (boys who start dating after age 21…) Honestly, I was intrigued when I saw a website listed and everything so I had to check it out. …
I just found a response by Debbie Greenblatt to the piece Mishpacha printed from my post, “The Third Option.” To ‘Name Withheld’: While I laud your perspective of rising above the fray to ‘choose you’, a more valid Torah-based approach would be to choose what Hashem would like of you in this difficult situation, as best as you can …
