The following four tech tools have given a big boost to my search for happiness. Hopefully some of them can also help you in 2016. Please note: I am not affiliated with these products and I’m not receiving any money or benefits to promote them.
Category Archives: Simcha Techniques
Don’t Quit Before the (Hanukkah) Miracle!
When the Maccabees arrived at the holy Temple in Jerusalem to liberate and reconsecrate it, they found a single small cruse of pure olive oil bearing the seal of the High Priest. They thought this would be enough oil to last only one night, but a miracle occurred and the oil burned for eight days.
If the Maccabees had said, “We don’t have enough oil to do this ceremony properly, let’s just give up,” we wouldn’t be collectively celebrating Hanukkah right now.
Many of us today are facing seemingly hopeless situations and the temptation to give up is strong.
4 Life Lessons Learned from Rocky Balboa
Creed (#Creed), the seventh entry in the Rocky movie franchise, set an industry record for previews yesterday and is getting rave reviews. As a long time lover of Sylvester Stallone movies, especially the Rocky series, I am bummed that the movie isn’t being shown in Israel until January 28!
In order to feel like I am joining in the Rocky celebration kicking off for Creed’s official U.S. release tonight, I have decided to share life/spiritual lessons from the Rocky series.
Let’s get ready to rumble!!!
Bereshit and Loving the Process
Jews around the world recently finished reading the last Torah portion of the year. So what do we do now? Rest for a while? Find another book, maybe? Go fishing?
Sukkot and the Fight Club
Don’t worry, I’m not recommending fist fights in your Sukkah (the temporary hut Jews inhabit during the festival of Sukkot). That would likely wreck the walls of your Kosher Sukkah!
I’m simply noting that one of the main themes of the Fight Club, a thought-provoking movie starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, is also a dominant theme of Sukkot. This theme has much to teach us about simcha (Jewish joy).
Yom Kippur – You’re Doing it Wrong
No days were as festive for Israel as Tu B’Av and Yom Kippur –Tractate Ta’anit.
What is the Mishna trying to tell us? We understand why Tu B’Av, a magical day of love, was considered a happy day. But Yom Kippur? Isn’t that supposed to be the day that we punish our bodies by fasting and reflect on the many awful things we did in the previous year? How does that promote simcha (Jewish joy)?
Mikveh Before Rosh HaShana
Because many Jews immerse in a mikveh (ritual bath) before Rosh HaShana, I am re-posting a previous blog post about a happiness visualization for the mikveh. Have a sweet and HAPPY New Year!
— Simcha
After deciding to start my current search for simcha (Jewish joy) on Hoshana Rabbah, one of the first things I did that morning was immerse myself in one of the local mikvehs. Hoshana Rabbah is the day when the judgment process that has started on Rosh HaShana is sealed, and I wanted to feel spiritually pure.
Crucial Practice for Post-Rosh HaShana Happiness
One of the number one things most of us will be praying for on Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year, is happiness. Jewish joy (simcha) is the nectar that will enable us to have a sweet New Year.
But it’s not as easy as merely requesting happiness from G-d. We have to work hard and partner with G-d to advance spiritually. And the first step is a technique called “cheshbon hanefesh,” or “an accounting of the soul.”
Continue reading Crucial Practice for Post-Rosh HaShana Happiness
Becoming a Rich Jew…
I’m not usually the type to obsess about my financial situation, or to think too much about the things I don’t have. Israelis seem a little less materialistic than people in other Western countries and I am blessed to have a full-time job in high-tech, an apartment in Modi’in, a car, etc.
But I must admit that my recent trip to visit my family and friends in Boston (near Boston, technically) shook me up a little bit.
3 Tips for a Miserable Country from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
I had the privilege and pleasure of hearing Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks speak in Modi’in last week. He is promoting his latest book, Not in G-d’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence.
Rabbi Sacks spoke about three main thought processes that occur in the minds of religious zealots who commit acts of evil. He said that although religious violence is most commonly being committed by Islamic extremists today, it can manifest in all religions.
Everyone would do well to examine these thought processes, so we can defend against the extremists in our midst. This examination would produce the side benefit of reducing fear, anguish and suffering on a personal and national level.
Continue reading 3 Tips for a Miserable Country from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks