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?
Tag Archives: Judaism
5 Reasons Jews Don’t Exercise
As part of my efforts to feel greater happiness (simcha) and joy, I have begun working out and watching what I eat. I already feel a little better, but is my new focus at odds with traditional Judaism?
Unfortunately, there are some in the community who have taken a negative view of proper nutrition and physical fitness for a variety of reasons:
1. Exercise is a waste of time: wasting time is a serious offense in traditional Judaism and the Rabbis taught us to preoccupy ourselves mostly with Torah study, good deeds and prayer. It is sometimes difficult to find time to exercise when one also prays three times a day (in addition to all of life’s other responsibilities).
My Hair Stylist’s View on Kids, Technology and Shabbat
This week I went to my hair stylist*, Erez, for a quick haircut around lunch time.
I’ve been a loyal customer since moving to Modi’in, Israel ten years ago. He does a nice job cutting my hair (sadly, there is less hair to work with as time passes) and I enjoy talking to him. After quickly catching up, we started chatting about whether Israel will ever extend its weekend and officially make Sunday a day off.
Continue reading My Hair Stylist’s View on Kids, Technology and Shabbat
Keith Berman’s (z’l) Passing
In the Land of Israel, it is possible to draw the joy of holiness from the site of joy itself. – Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel
Normally you wouldn’t expect a blog about simcha (Jewish joy) to focus on a recent passing. But the death of Keith Berman (z’l), whom I had the pleasure of working for when he was the director of the Young Judaea/FZY Year Course in Israel, is relevant to this blog because I saw firsthand how much joy he brought into the world.