“Apparently I’m becoming my mother.” I said these words out loud a few weeks ago. The more I get into this mom thing, the more I hear myself echoing the words – and taking the actions – of my parents. From giving Shiri baths with colored water, to the silly songs we sing in the morning and while getting ready for bedtime, it’s like my childhood all over again.
I'd like to share two occasions in which I took part this past week. The first was a family outing to the Oregon Historical Society on Veteran's Day. There was a powerful display on World War II and on the American "propaganda" posters of both world wars. I was moved by both, given hope and also saddened.
Rebekah’s pregnancy was far from perfect, but then again parenthood isn’t supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to change us, challenge us, and create our future. This too is Torah.
You hear that parenting changes your life completely, but obviously it’s a different feeling for every parent. Over two years ago as Duncan and I prepared to welcome Shiri into our lives, we knew we were about to experience something intensely emotional, like nothing we’d ever experienced before.
The December 2015 issue of Psychology Today has an interesting article about the science of first impressions. Among the striking findings is an argument that we humans have only developed the tools to "read people" over the last 13,000 years. Before the advent of agriculture and larger human settlements, we all lived in smaller tribal units where everyone was known.
Why wait to pass on your love of Judaism? Tell part of your story every day, and start sharing your legacy now. This too is Torah.
Failure is unavoidable. The news media depend on this for their content, and we all know too well what our personal failings are. Most of us also don't enjoy the feeling of failure. Yet given its prevalence, and our continued survival as a species, failure seems essential for us as well. Why is that?
