All Entries in the "Self Improvement" Category
(Belated) Thoughts on the Tragedy
What does the Leiby Kletsky tragedy have to do with the topic of this blog? Absolutely nothing. Nevertheless, there is not a Jewish blog out there that has not wrote something about this senseless and heartbreaking story. Why this happened to us, we cannot know, and there is no point in speculating. But one interesting [...]
Leaving the Tayva
After the Mabul was over, Hashem had to command Noah to leave the Tayva. Not only that, he was told to tell the animals to go out onto the world, if they would refuse to do so take them out by force. Why would they want to stay? The answer is simple: They were simply [...]
Rav Mattisyahu: Why Are We Asking For Life?
During the Aseres Yemei T’shuva, we are constantly asking Hashem for life – chayim. Zochrainu L’Chaim, Bisefer Chaim, U’chsov L’Chaim… Many years ago I heard a shmuz from Rav Mattisyahu Salomon who told how a kollel yungerman approached him and asked, “Why are we so occupied with asking Hashem for Life? Why do we need [...]
Feeling Like its Aseres Yemei T’shuva
Many people complain that they just don’t feel the special quality of the Aseres Yemei Tshuva. In their heads, they know how important these days are and how we must do t’shuva, but they have trouble feeling it in their hearts. As a bochur in yeshiva, its much easier to be inspired. There are extra [...]
Rosh Chodesh Elul – Make this One Different
Its the Elul time of year, bein hazmanim is over, and life is back to routine – all over again. Another zman, another limud, but the same old routine. But this time, let’s try something different. Instead of allowing another zman to drift through with the same result, do something remarkable. It’s a short zman, [...]
Lazy Comes in Many Forms
Lazy doesn’t just mean having a hard time getting up in the morning. It comes in many different forms. You can be too lazy to actually go to bed at night. You can be too lazy to write a letter to someone, pick up flowers for your wife, call your lonely uncle, or visit your [...]
Free Lunch vs. True Freedom
“There is no such thing as a free lunch.” It’s much easier to go for the free lunch. At least in the short-term. There is no worrying where your next meal is coming from, you don’t even have to decide on the menu. You may not love the food that is being served, but hey, [...]
Twice as Much in Half the Time
As frum people, we have to accomplish twice as much is half the time. Compared with the average family in the US, a frum family has at least double (most likely 3x) the expenses. Tuition, kosher food, clothing, summer camps, etc. Earning that extra money means having to work harder. But we also have much [...]
Being a Doer vs. Just a Onlooker
If you ever want to get an idea of how many people are out there on the internet, take a look at Wikipedia. There are millions of articles on every possible subject under the sun, all of them authored by anonymous volunteer experts on the particular subject matter. It is truly amazing to see how [...]
Day # 7 – All Prepared for Yom Kippur (KABBALOS LIST)
Are you prepared for Yom Kippur? Most of us don’t give Yom Kippur much thought. It comes as always, on the 10th of Tishrei, at the most incovenient time of the year. School just started for the kids, Sukkos is only a few days away, and we are supposed to seriously reflect on our deeds [...]
