Schlisl challah Last week was the first Shabbat after Passover, and my child and I tried our hand at a custom we had never observed before - baking schlisl challah, or key challah. I think we didn’t do too badly for a first try.  Growing up in Israel, I had never heard of this Ashkenazic … Continue reading No More Manna

Image credit: Pixabay The mind is a slippery thing - any time we get complacent and think we’ve got a good handle on our behaviour and our character, it will find some way to puncture our balloon. This happened to me the other day, and I’d like to share it with you, in the hope … Continue reading About Pride

Image credit: Pixabay Happy Wednesday! I usually write this newsletter on Sunday, but this special Passover edition is being written on Thursday, in the midst of our preparations for the traditional celebration. This year Passover starts on Friday night, so I will be offline Saturday (as always) and also Sunday (because we celebrate double holidays … Continue reading Celebrating Freedom Amidst Constraints

Image credit: Pixabay I heard a great tip from one of my coaches the other day, and I wanted to pass it on to you. It seems really silly, but it works surprisingly well. Here’s the deal. We often fall into a habit of complaining about people and things, and we don’t even hear ourselves … Continue reading How to Stop Complaining

Image credit: Pixabay I heard a recent video from Ray Higdon, in which he mentioned the importance of edifying and giving credit to those who have taught us things or given us ideas. I imagine that Ray doesn’t know that he has support in this from the Talmud, no less: Thus you have learned: everyone … Continue reading Do You Give Credit?

Image credit: Pixabay Last Friday morning, the springlike temperatures we have been enjoying plummeted back to about -12C, and a nasty wind sprang up. I looked out of my kitchen window at the swaying trees, listened to the howl, and debated whether to run outside or go run on my basement treadmill, as I had … Continue reading Just Because It’s Scary …

Image credit: Pixabay If you have followed me for any length of time, you know that I love to listen to audiobooks while running. Right now I’m listening to a guy called Chris Niebauer, Ph.D.. He’s an American neuropsychologist, and a lover of all things Buddhist and Zen. He’s written a book called “No Self … Continue reading What Kind of Stories is Your Left Brain Telling You?

Image credit: Pixabay The other day I was chatting with a friend who was struggling to define her audience - she knows that she wants to serve a certain kind of person like herself, a mom with kids who require more attention than most. She said, “I keep ending up with negative terms like unappreciated … Continue reading Do You Appreciate Yourself?

Sometimes we need to have reminders all over the place - even on our  bodies. I don’t do tattoos, but sometimes jewelry can have a similar function. I bought this ring quite a long time ago, after listening to Marisa Peer talk about the main problem of our times, according to her - people thinking … Continue reading My Ring Has a Message For You

Image credit: Pixabay Our Western society, especially in the United States but to some extent also in Canada, worships entrepreneurs. We love a good rags-to-riches story, and why not? People who have built successful businesses have usually (not always - some were born into wealth) worked extremely hard and overcome obstacles most of us would … Continue reading It’s OK Not to Want It