I want to wish all my readers a gmar chasima tova and a gut gebencht yuhr! My friend sent me this beautiful article about making your pitch to Hashem. Also, I learned this week in Kitzur Shulchan Aruch that we are told to be happy and enjoy Motzoei Yom Kippur and the days between Yom Kippur and Succos — Hashem …
Last night I searched for something in Whatsapp and went down a rabbit hole rereading past conversations, as one does. Since most of my lengthier text-based conversations are punctuated by voicenotes, I started listening to those, too. Hearing voicenotes from the past year or two was like listening to an auditory montage of my emotional experience. I heard my voice …
Yes, yes, I did this less than a year ago for 2023, and haven’t worked through that one (quite). But I needed a boost going into the new year, and I do adore a bucket list. I also noticed upon rereading my list for 2023 that a number of items focused on good habit formation, and though that’s generally a …
I read the poem “What to Remember When Waking” by David Whyte in a writing workshop: “What you can plan is too small for you to live.”
I asked an older friend/mentor for ideas about how to approach Elul this year, and she suggested that I learn about the basics of Elul and Rosh Hashanah from a sefer. She pointed out — and I have also seen — that learning about the things we did when we were younger, as adults, gives us an entirely new understanding …
I just reread this Elul post about making changes and growing. One of the unintentional benefits of having this blog is getting to track my own thought processes over time. Since I’ve been blogging a lot longer than I ever thought I would (six and a half years!), I also get to see evidence of growth, as what was revelatory …
I read the most beautiful quote from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l about forgiveness: Forgiveness means that we are not destined endlessly to replay the grievances of yesterday. It is the ability to live with the past without being held captive by the past. It would not be an exaggeration to say that forgiveness is the most compelling testimony to …
On Motzoei Yom Kippur 2020, I started learning a lesson a day of shmiras haloshon and posting it on our family chat. I would record myself reading from Guard Your Tongue by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin. Once we finished the book, I bought Master Your Words, Master Your Life by Chana Nestlebaum and continued with that. In January (2022) I conked …
This time of year, I have been known to write about my vision for the year ahead. I’m not doing that this year. After years of focusing lots of energy on visioning and manifesting and trying to bring in the best year ever, I want to take it one day at a time, whatever each day brings. My friend …
One of my very favorite books is Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace, set in 1912 Minnesota. Emily has just graduated from high school, and unlike all her college-bound friends, she is staying home to care for her grandfather who raised her. As fall turns to winter, Emily is depressed and lonely. She feels stuck, watching everyone else …
