No matter how you acknowledge (or don’t acknowledge) your birthday, the day holds opportunity. How do you feel about birthdays? Are you one of those who eagerly count down to your next birthday as soon as the previous one has passed? Do you make elaborate parties for your kids’ birthdays and spend months trying to…
How to Make Your Bas Mitzvah Girl Feel Special on Her Special Day
Mazal Tov, she’s now a woman! There’s something special about planning a bas mitzvah. I haven’t yet had the zechus to make a bar mitzvah, but I’m deep in the throes of planning my second bas mitzvah. Bas Mitzvah parties are celebrated so differently from community to community. Where I live, there is no standard…
Your Quick Guide to Pre-Shavuos Inspiration
If you didn’t find the time to learn Pirke Avos over Sefirah, you can still bring the sparks of greatness into your Shavuos. Take in these highlights from the sixth Perek, also known as “Perek Kinyan Torah.” The Shabbos before Shavuos is the perfect time to learn and absorb these messages of the majesty of…
The Fire Within: A Lag B’omer Primer for Growth
What does this day mean to us? How can we use it for growth? Ner elokim nismas adam. Our neshama is compared to a fire, and there are a number of ways this can be manifested. What I have always considered the most poignant relationship between fire and soul is the constant pull to reach…
Eight Life Lessons from Pesach
We’ve learned a lot in our journey towards Pesach. These are lessons to bring with us into Yom Tov. We’ve dragged our weary bodies into Pesach, hopefully a little more refreshed than usual thanks to a solid Shabbos nap. Now what? We have a week of celebrating, of feasting, of rejuvenation, and a week of…
Finding Meaning in the Madness
Nine Life Lessons of Purim Purim is a Yom Tov like no other in the sheer craziness it brings. First, there are weeks preceding it with so many decisions to make. This is no where should we spend first days and last days, and what side dishes should I make with my Sukkos roast. There…
Uplifting Our Gifting, Eight Ways for Eight Days
With Chanukah about to begin, we are gearing up for a special week of menorah lighting and singing, latkes and donuts, parties, and possibly even presents. Chanukah gifts are heavily debated, and every family and every society feels differently about them. Some decry the fact that Chanukah has become all about the presents and we’ve…
How to Apologize
It’s not always so easy to say “I’m Sorry,” (especially if you were right!) It’s that time of year, when we work toward cleaning our slate both bein adam l’Makom and bein adam l’chaveiro. And while hurts and grudges shouldn’t necessarily be left to fester until just before Yom Kippur, if you haven’t made up…
Embracing Elul: Forty Different Ideas for Self-Improvement
What should I do to make the next forty days count? Some of these ideas might work for you. Rosh Chodesh Elul signals the beginning of the season of introspection. It’s hard, in the whirlwind of school beginning and the approaching yamim tovim, to set aside time and brain space for the true avodah of…
Nine Ways to Achieve a Productive and Refreshing Summer
How do we turn our “Vacation” into a real “Bein Hazemanim?” It’s that time of year that has children all over celebrating, and many adults too. Even if you aren’t a teacher, there is something exhilarating about summer vacation, whether it’s the ability to sleep a little bit later, fewer buses to catch, less homework…
