Word Prompt

I often tell my kids when they choose to take a gray path that they were born to stand out and to be unique.

A person is always complicated, layered, and ultimately unknowable – we never know exactly what someone has been through, and what has led them to the choices they have made.

One of my fondest memories in sleepaway camp was when it became dark and cloudy out. While some were bummed that the gray sky cancelled their swimming or sports play plans, I looked forward to the downpour and what came after.

Most things in this world are indeed gray. And then there are indeed things that are black and white, like a war between good and evil.

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The secret is to use that regret to strive for more. To learn from mistakes. To make sure that when confronted with a similar situation, the best path will be clear.

There is a healthy regret that is one of the three steps of teshuva. There is a regret that can be transformed into an engine, a desire and decision to improve the relationship and do better next time.

Healthy regret arises from a conscious evaluation of a past misstep. It compels us to learn and grow.

With maturation, and a greater understanding of her pain and suffering, I realized that she taught me and others so much.

Regret, or charata, is crucial in the process of teshuva. The Alter Rebbe offers a profound insight, linking the word charata with charita (engraving). This suggests that acknowledging our regrets helps engrave lessons learned, preventing repetition of past mistakes.

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Anyone who has been involved in chinuch, either as an educator or a parent, knows that adding playfulness, whimsy, and fun are the secret, critical ingredients to a love of learning.

Playfulness can turn the harshness of reality into something that is more manageable. It helps us to relax and regulate our nervous system which makes for better processing and coping.

When I close my eyes, thirty years ago at Camp Stone feels like yesterday, the lessons from holding candles by the lake on Tisha B’Av and hiding from the Greeks at late night capture the flag, will be part of me forever. Playing is learning, posting is not.

The idea behind play therapy is, some feelings are too intense for a child to express in words, but a child’s play can reveal and articulate a world of complex emotions – to one who knows how to observe.

When it comes to sports, it’s key for adults to emphasize life skills learned from the game, rather than focusing on winning and losing.

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Today, I love trying to recreate those moments with my husband and daughters and make new memories that will surely last a lifetime.

Grilling with our family alongside others of various stripes, brothers and sisters all, filled me with a rush of pride and sense of belonging that Fourth of July celebrations never quite did.

In the Talmud, foods are class-based. You just do not read of rabbis stating that they drink the common beverage, date beer, but only if it is of the single origin variety, brewed locally in Neharda'ah.

I have a rule though: once you flavor and layer your hamburger with whatever you want, you cannot put it down. Otherwise, you risk ruining the sandwich by making the bread soggy with all the juices that come out.

Most importantly, the backyard barbeque is a way for us to just get together and have fun eating and schmoozing.

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It is hard to imagine the study of Torah without debate and machloket – indeed what would the Talmud look like shorn of the multiplicity of debates and disagreements that propel its dialogue forward?

To think of the Sanhedrin as merely an institutional feature of enforcing Jewish law would be to miss the central role Jewish legal institutions – whether it be the Sanhedrin of old or the modern day beit din – play in the ethics of Jewish law.

As a number of traditional sources point out, such legislation of the details of biblical law was not decided solely upon the basis of decoding the text or Talmudic logic.

Instead of the lofty goal of creating a Sanhedrin with the intent of creating consensus and unity, we could start the other way around. Start off with achdus, and a global movement to increase ahavas Yisrael among our people.

The Greek term Sanhedrin reflects a new name given to the zekeinim we know from the Torah. So Sanhedrin represents Jewish ability to determine law and justice, even as it is subjugated under an outside imperial culture.

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Popsicles came in varying colors and flavors. Vanilla white, lime green, chocolate, banana yellow, cherry red, etc. Yet they are all labeled as popsicles.