This summer I turned thirty. A few weeks before my birthday, I started thinking about what I wanted to do to recognize the occasion…I thought it would be nice to learn something and give it over, and though I did not have time to give a formal shiur, I want to share it with you. The Mishnah in Pirkei …
Good morning. Last night I listened to a beautiful shiur given by Rabbi Moshe Weinberger. It starts at 19 minutes. If you have time, I suggest giving it a listen. I hope you have a meaningful Tu B’Shvat and eat some wonderful fruits.
Hi all, just dashing off something short and sweet in honor of Purim. Because this Purim is on Friday, I know I’ll have to cut back on the shalach manos and general activity. I’m giving out challah (six months and counting! yay!) so I guess I’ll drop off the extras at a neighbor if I don’t use the whole …
My friend was trying to borrow a succah for the upcoming Y”T (as her plans changed due to COVID) and finally declared, “I’m going to stop asking around and just buy myself a succah. I need some stability.” I couldn’t resist. “If it’s stability you’re after, you should definitely buy a succah. Now there’s a real symbol of permanence.” …
Someone sent me a clip of Rav Elimelech Biderman shlit”a speaking about this week’s parsha, Parshas Shlach. I found it so powerful and just what I needed to hear. After the meraglim (spies) came back from spying Cana’an, they described the sights they had seen and told how impossible it would be to conquer the land. Calev answered, “Aloh …
Since my Partner in Torah and I are now learning about the manna, I dusted off a paper I wrote in seminary (many moons ago) to refresh my memory of different lessons we can learn from this topic. (By the way, I couldn’t figure out whether to write it like mohn or manna. I was more inclined to the first but it evokes …
Last week my Partner in Torah and I started the third perek of Sefer Shemos, the story of Moshe Rabbeinu at the burning bush. I keep saying this, but it really amazes me how much personal meaning I can find in the words of the pasuk and Rashi now that I am an adult. We had an amazing discussion about …
Two weeks ago, my Partner in Torah and I completed Sefer Bereishis with Rashi. I thought how appropriate it was to be making a siyum during the Yomim Noraim, as we approach Simchas Torah. Throughout our learning, I was always surprised by how many new insights I could find in the text, and by how many questions I had …
This time last year, I did not feel ready for Yom Kippur. I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t think I had done any semblance of a proper teshuva. And I just wanted to stay home from shul. I called up one of my role model/friends and asked her to give me whatever chizuk came to mind. These …
It’s Elul. Wow. I’m signed up for two personal development courses for Elul. The first is Rabbi Aryeh Nivin’s Elul Chaburah, which is a short series of classes on taking stock and setting goals for the coming year. I actually did this Elul course three years ago and it was incredible. It costs $1 (but you have to cancel …
