blessings Archives - Values & Ethics

SIMCHAT TORAH—Opportunities for Joy

Sep 30, 2018 | blessings, gratitude, holidays, rituals, teaching moments

SIMCHAT TORAH — Unbridled joy is the gift that children often experience as they go through their daily lives. They are capable of so much feeling, of happiness and sadness, and with such intensity. We celebrate with them when they are happy, and we are sad when they grieve. At times it’s important not to get too caught up with our children’s emotions and to maintain a calm front in the face of their ups and downs. At other times, it’s important to get right in there and rejoice or grieve right along with them. As a parent it...

SUKKOT—Fragility, Fear, and Blessing

Sep 21, 2018 | blessings, challenges, holidays

SUKKOT — Much of what we do tries to instill in our children a sense of security. What a challenge it is when life presents something unexpected to us that shows us how fragile we really are. Life in all its fragility can be difficult. We carry around fears of illness and worse for ourselves or our children or other loved ones. Everyone, at some point in life is faced with this feeling of fragility. The Holiday of Sukkot is all about fragility. A sukkah is a temporary shelter with a roof that allows us to see the sky...

OUR ANCESTORS BEFORE US…

Sep 4, 2018 | blessings, family

NITZAVIM — Many of us approach parenthood as if we and our children were clean slates. As if, with some coaching from our friends and relatives, and a few good books, we can be exactly the kind of parents we wish to be and our children will turn out exactly how we want them to be. But it doesn’t often, or ever, turn out that way. We are heavily influenced by the way we were brought up, as well as by many factors not totally in our control. Our health, our socioeconomic situation, and the health and character of...

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE…

Aug 28, 2018 | blessings

KI TAVO — Imagine a parent bringing a six-month-old baby to the doctor. The mother looks on while the baby screams and squirms as the doctor pokes and pulls and gives a shot. The same baby grows up and is now a four-year-old at a birthday party; her mother stops her from having that final candy that she knows will make the daughter sick. Although from the child’s perspective the mother may seem very mean, she is in fact acting with the greatest mercy and kindness imaginable. Ki Tavo, this week’s Torah portion, describes a beautiful relationship between man...

SHARING WHAT WE HAVE…

Aug 28, 2018 | blessings, compassion, gratitude, new challenges, sharing

KI TAVO — Many of us in this country have an overabundance of goodness in our lives. But sometimes in our society, with its saturation of goods and services, it is difficult to be aware of this abundance. If we have enough to eat, a place to sleep, and clothes to wear, we already have more than many people in the world. Becoming aware of how much we have, we naturally begin to think about what it means to give back to this world from which we’ve so plentifully received. In this Torah portion we are required to take...

Category: blessings

SIMCHAT TORAH—Opportunities for Joy

SUKKOT—Fragility, Fear, and Blessing

OUR ANCESTORS BEFORE US…

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE…

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