Teens and Twenties

Her faith she had to hide, To find out the king tried But no answer would ever come from His wife.

What made this apple decay and grow mold, This is a message for both young and old.

Never sacrifice the people who matter for anything of lesser importance...

When a child is trembling with fear, When guns command him to raise his hands in the air You know beyond a shadow of doubt The World Has Gone Upside Down.

Somewhere along the way, my own mantra got lost and fell to the wayside. Now, that certainty has been replaced by doubt. By comparing. By looking over my shoulder at others and seeing that they do more, they have more, they know more, they have more than me.

I stood there on the steps, rather stunned. I couldn’t believe he was serious; surely this was just a chocolate-obtaining-method of flattery. But I sure wasn’t taking a chance.

"Fear absolutely no one or nothing but G-d, and love every single Jew no matter who he/she is and no matter what he/she is doing.”

The voyage is going peacefully A salty tang in the air, But when the storm decides to strike The sailors are unprepared.

My sister went to take a shower. I really didn’t appreciate being alone. As I waited for my turn to shower, I suddenly heard voices coming from my parents' bedroom, down the dark hallway.

Every child wants to "fit in," and not be the “uncool kid." This is why teenagers steal, from a high-end store or a schoolmate. Some kids even get bullied for their appearance. So they just make believe they are too sick and not have to suffer what they call “torture."

The wind whistled outside my house, as the lights flickered but thankfully didn’t turn completely off. Being in this situation reminded me of the terrible week and a half in late October when my family and community lost all electrical power due to Superstorm Sandy.

“Nechama Gitty Shapiro is leaving,” said the secretary, poking her head into the classroom. My classmates all turned towards me and whispered, “Where are you going?”

I look into the flickering flames of the Shabbos candles and I am thankful for the warmth and light that emanates from them and illuminates our home.

Today is day six without a phone. Besides for feeling slightly isolated, it’s not too bad. I’ve been doing things that I know I would not be doing if my phone was sitting next to me, shiny screen beckoning.

He strengthened his resolve Knew his life he would lose, But when the king uttered the words With great pride he refused.

Just like you I too have a soul A soul that is G-dly Just like you. Now my friend I ask you, Am I different from you?

When you wake up in the morning, and see the sunlight streaming into your room, do you say thank you to the One Who deserves thanks the most?

Those people. The ones that hang out at the library, or in certain sections of town, walking, talking...

When I was fourteen years old I understood that I might never return to Moscow and live at home with my parents. While I had lived the bulk of my life in Moscow, at the start of high school I was going to assimilate into the American system of education and the world of American teenageism. I was excited.

At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to use it at all. I had thought the concept was perfect. A rose-colored background, surrounding black encroaching from all sides. It would be a cave of warmth, a hiding place within the darkness.

17 July I hope you all had an enjoyable and meaningful fast and now sit satisfied and full as you think back to your inspiration. I wanted to share one thing I gained this year.

I was entering 3 months in which my connection to my Judaism would be up to me, and I feared I would lose everything.

Students in the Lubavitch Senior School in London were asked to recreate a historical event. Miriam Ives, age 15, wrote a letter to a newspaper in the guise of a soldier during the Crimean War.

I always knew I wanted to be perfect, but it wasn’t until my seminary year that I decided I wanted to be publicly perfect. It was at that point in my life that the imagery of me as a public figure and a rebbetzin was born.

I hear my alarm clock buzzing But my body refuses to budge It needs another shot of caffeine In the form of a latte with mocha-fudge

It can be a daunting process sending teens off for their first year of study in Eretz Yisroel. For most teens, this will be their first complete year away from the comfort of home and the guidance of their parents. As if that isn’t enough, they’ll be about a full day’s travel away from home.

At the American Jewish Historical Society, there was an excellent program about Jewish women in the Civil War. The audience learned about such colorful women as Phoebe Yates Pember who served as a nurse, with 15,000 patients coming under her direct care during the war and Clara Solomon, a teenager who chronicled the Civil War.

Miri was a special child. I didn’t know that at first. She had thick, dark hair, round face, and a slow smile. “I’m six,” she said. But then I learned what it felt like when Miri wrapped her arms around you and hugged. Her face upturned, that slow smile spreading across it. Reaching her eyes, that would grow, and grow and grow, liquid ovals of brown above cheeks tinged deep pink.

I hear a beat, I know the sound I feel a skip, One that I’m used to I see a picture, But this one is new I cry of pain, Because I know this is real.

The girl that can’t cry has a heart so cold buried under frozen tears rhythm; untold.