It’s perfectly normal to have anxiety when your child makes the transition from being solely in your care to daycare or preschool. In fact, it’s not so different from the anxiousness Israelites might have felt as they prepared themselves for new leadership after Moshe.
This past week, the Jewish world and humanity as a whole lost one of its giants. Shimon Peres crossed over to olam ha'emet--the world of truth as one Hebrew idiom describes death. It was clear that this week's article needed to be dedicated to his memory. Yet how does one sum up a man like Peres, particularly when so much of the world press has been reporting on his passing?
I didn’t really believe it when people told me that love evolves. Married couples told me the love I felt for my husband wouldn’t always feel the same as it did on our wedding day or at any other point in our relationship. Then I found out it was true.
Our day-to-day choices usually aren’t as dramatic as blessings versus curses or life versus death, but the message we take away from this week’s Torah portion is that even seemingly inconsequential decisions can affect our lives in meaningful ways.
Bad things really do cluster around the high holidays. It's not myth. I've spoken to funeral directors who've been in their business for long years, and they confirm that they see an increase in deaths around holidays. More Christians die around Christmas and Easter.
As the parent of a young child, I find that my world moves at a breakneck pace. To get out the door on time in the morning means that we have a system in place that works like a well-oiled machine. We’re basically a relay team. Shiri gets up, I feed her while Duncan showers and dresses, then he dresses Shiri while I walk the dog.
How do you handle criticism? Our Torah portion suggests that a rebuke has inherent value if you can use it to learn and grow.