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The Plague Of Hefkerness
If I am a victim of some mishap, let it be because of my own shortcomings, not someone else’s.
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Taking Your Head Out Of The Sand
The fact is more people are getting cancer – but not necessarily dying from it. Many are cured, or at least are in remission for years.
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It Started With A Sneeze (Part 1)
Don't we all complain about being tired or having aches and pains somewhere?
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It Started With A Sneeze (Conclusion)
My all powerful Father hadn’t protected me. He had let a biological bogeyman grab me.
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‘Domestic Dystopia’
Young children observe and absorb even the tiniest details of their parents behaviors.
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Megillat Esther Vs. Megillat Mordechai
Looking at the story, one could argue that Mordechai was somewhat responsible for what happened and it was only through Esther’s heroic sacrifice that the Jews were saved.
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Guarding Against Amalek
Truth be told, if you were to ask graduate students in ancient history who Amalek was, you’d likely get blank stares.
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Mindfullness – Part II
There is another element to mindful walking that I want to point out – being on guard against those who deliberately want to disturb or cause harm.
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Medical Mindfulness
It’s important to be mindful of changes not just in yourself, but in the activities, habits and personality of family members and close friends.
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Spiritual Awareness: Sometimes It Takes A Banana Peel
She would not focus on what she didn't have, but on what she did have.
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Time To Emulate The Maccabees
I always feel that it’s important to fight back – even if you are going down, at least the opponent will have a scratch or bruise as well.
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Post-Virus Wake Up Call
We tend to eat too much; smoke, and under exercise. For some, the only significant movement they do is walk to shul and back – but only because driving is forbidden on Shabbat.
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Bittersweet Tears Of Separation
It was the mask. A very cute mask with a witty message – but nonetheless, I realized that the mask represented something deeply distressing. Forced separation.
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Learning From A “Poor” Squirrel’s Folly
Without fail, as I would approach the curve and continue on the sidewalk that was near the road, there would be one or two squirrels recklessly darting into the road, pausing and darting back as they...
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Beware The Bulldozers
A situation that I’m sure happens way too often is when a friend or relative pressures someone who can’t afford to lose money to “invest in a sure thing.”
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Journalistic Integrity – an Oxymoron?
The city decided to have a forum at which people could express their opinion for or against Sunday closures. My parents had a shoe store and I decided to argue on their behalf as to why they should be...
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Silver Linings In Stormy Clouds
If one can’t watch the simcha live, there is the option to view it in its entirety at a more convenient time.
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UnSpoken Lashon Hara
As a consequence of these negative thought processes, opportunities to achieve one’s goals are flitted away, having never been given a chance to develop.
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Understanding Genocide through Covid
The teacher was so distraught and horrified, both by the murder and his undeniable failure to get through to his students, that he packed up and left.
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Ruth – A True Torah Jew
Ruth knew that Torah was the fount of all spiritual and emotional growth. And like the sage Hillel,... Ruth too was willing to suffer both physically and emotionally to honor her vow to be a Torah Jew.
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Be My Guest
Visitors have to be mindful when they are visiting family in a private house, that they are not in a hotel, where they feel it's ok to leave a mess for someone else to clean up.
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A Shabbat Prayer
It’s one thing if you are responsible for your own misfortune, but so much more unbearable if you did all the right things and someone else who was not paying attention, or who took safety shortcuts,...
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On Our Own
There are subtle signs of a potentially problematic person. I have often said, people should marry people with compatible meshugasim.
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‘I Need To Matter’
One friend told me that her mother did not go to her brother’s high school graduation because he was not the valedictorian but only the salutatorian.
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Hashgacha Pratis – Divinely Created ‘Coincidence’
The odds of me bumping into this stranger whom I had never met previously, or since, were extremely low except that Hashem had engineered this scenario.
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Al Chait
We assure ourselves that we will take the high road and refrain from lashon hara or spreading gossip – even if the information is true.
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Gimpel The Oxymoron
I am convinced that when it comes to expressing one’s feelings or opinions about anything under the sun, Yiddish is one of the best languages to do it in.
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Jumping Back On The “Swing”
When it appeared that I was going to be okay and the teachers could start breathing again, they asked what in the world made me do such a dangerous thing, jumping off the swing in midair.
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Sensible Suggestions
Make sure when walking alone on Shabbat and Yom Tov, that you have your name and/or address in a pocket (if there is a eruv) since you won’t have your purse or phone with you.
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The Ugly Duckling – Happily Ever After?
It’s like being told you’re fat, and even after actually losing weight and looking slim and svelte for years, the person will likely see herself as a fat person masquerading as a thin one.
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Word Prompt – SHOTRIM – Cheryl Kupfer
Even though some may seem rude, or impatient, they still have my best interests at heart – even though they may give confusing and conflicting directions (seemingly on purpose).
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Word Prompt – MECHILA – Cheryl Kupfer
How do you forgive those who are chayav mita, deserving of death for murdering their victims’ future on so many levels, emotionally, physically, socially and financially?
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Israel Is Real
They are all heroes, I thought to myself, those who go – and those who let go.
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A Prayer For Eretz Yisrael
We turn to You, the G-d of mercy, You, who we fear and adore, Please heed our prayers and pleas and bring relief, For our battered souls cannot take too much more.
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Word Prompt – SANCTUARY – Cheryl Kupfer
A modern-day version of sanctuary would be a foreign embassy. If the good or bad guy being chased by local authorities could get into the embassy, he was untouchable.
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What Was Esther Thinking!!!
Jews had freedom of religion and were able to avoid assimilation no matter where they lived in the empire. They had no legal restrictions to live Jewishly.
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Word Prompt – FOUR – Cheryl Kupfer
Towards the end of the Seder, there is a song we sing that answers the question of how many matriarchs launched the people of Israel. Four.
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Word Prompt – POPSICLE – Cheryl Kupfer
Popsicles came in varying colors and flavors. Vanilla white, lime green, chocolate, banana yellow, cherry red, etc. Yet they are all labeled as popsicles.
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How Infertility Led To A Delayed Yerusha
Whereas good-hearted Leah went the proverbial “extra mile,” her siblings couldn't be bothered giving her an extra inch.
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