Category: Jewish Values
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After the hard introspective work of the month of Elul, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur, it’s time to celebrate!
Alarm Clock for the Soul
“Wake up, wake up, you sleepers from your slumber.” Maimonidies
Cramming
Don’t walk into Rosh Hashana unprepared!
My 9-11 anniversary
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing– America was under attack. One of the planes had been headed to L.A. The world stopped, and so did my life.
On The Road
I love meeting so many incredible people, connecting to Momentum alumni, as well as partners and supporters. And along the way, I have the pleasure of introducing Momentum to people who may have heard about us but want to know much more.
#10 Pray from the Heart
While traditional Jewish prayers are vivid and poetic, with every word carefully written long ago, not all prayers need to be so! Prayer can begin in an informal way as a personal, private expression of gratitude. Gratitude and humility diminish entitlement and invite us to feel deep appreciation for all of the gifts in our lives.
#9 Pursue Peace
Being a peacemaker among our peers can deepen our ability to see two sides of a story and offer perspective in problem solving. This advice isn’t just for adult relationships. For kids, this opportunity can play out daily during recess, in the cafeteria, on Instagram, or over text.
#8 Morals Matter
Raising a mensch means teaching our kids what Judaism says about being a good person. Jewish wisdom teaches: praising a child’s ethics, morals, and ideals is more important than praising their academic marks. If our children’s honesty, inclusiveness, and kindness garners the same praise as an A on their report card, our children will develop healthy self-esteem that isn’t tied to their intellect or academic achievements.
#7 Be Truly Kind
Jews do not practice random acts of kindness! Rather, regardless of our mood, we are obligated to always act with righteousness and kindness. With this in mind, it’s our job to teach our children to always search for opportunities to act with kindness, no matter how our own day might be going – and we need to model that, too. Carry band-aids, aspirin, chewing gum, subway tokens, loose change, candy, or any other things that people “need” on a regular basis – so that YOU can be the one to provide it.
#6 Don’t Rationalize
The Hebrew word for sin is chet, which comes from an old archery term that was used when an archer missed their intended target or mark. This ancient definition helps inform the Jewish view of sin, as our sages teach us: all people are essentially good, and sin is a product of our errors. We are each imperfect, and often “miss the mark.” Pick up the bow and try again.
THIS WEBSITE WAS CREATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF RITA KRAKOWER MARGOLIS
