Nina Amir's Thoughts on Human Potential, Personal Growth and Practical Spirituality
Today, after writing my most recent Jewish Issues Examiner column, I had to spend some time really considering how much I have allowed myself to become assimilated into secular culture. You see, my column was inspired by a JTA story I read about a Chabad rabbi in Russia trying to bring assimilated Jews there back [...]
As Jews around the world usher in the Sabbath with the candle lighting ritual, they ask God to spread over them “wings of peace…sukkat shalom.” They ask for “Shabbat shalom…Sabbath peace.” While some Jews actually will feel that peace during the 25 hours of this week’s Shabbat, I’m sure the survivors of the earthquake in [...]
As the sun sets, marking the beginning of Shabbat, a day known for “shalom,” peace, I think it’s fitting that President Barak Obama today should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Not only was this morning the time when Jews in the U.S. were preparing for Shabbat and 25 hours of peace but they [...]
To me, all sins come down to sins against God. If you believe a spark of Divinity exists in all things, then any sin you commit against something or someone constitutes a sin against God. Additionally, other actions are sins against our Creator as well. What might these be? They could be different for different [...]
Feeling joyous on Shabbat constitutes a great mitzvah (commandment or good deed) in Judaism. No matter your circumstances, you must be joyous on Shabbat. Plus, according to Rebbe Nachman, it’s impossible to feel a connection to God unless you can experience joy. Indeed, mitzvot, or commandments, are supposed to connect us to the Divine, and, we [...]
I feel my life swirling somewhat out of control. Sometimes out of control seems like a good thing, like when you can let go and enjoy a water slide, experiencing the speed and the excitement of simply seeing where you end up. Other times it’s a scary thing, like driving down a mountain with no [...]
Passover is over and bread is back in the house! More specifically, on Shabbat, we ate challah! I’m a bread lover, so a Shabbat during Passover week spent eating hard, cold, tasteless matzoh rather than soft, warm-out-of-the-oven, sweet bread just doesn’t seem right. I know, I know… Passover involves eating matzoh, the Bread of Freedom…the Bread [...]
Yesterday was Christmas Day, but at our home, it felt a lot like Shabbat. Actually, it felt more like Shabbat than most Saturdays. I really hate to admit that fact, but truth be told, most Jewish holidays, Chanukah included, fall during secular work days or at times when secular activities occur. For example, on Friday afternoons, [...]
I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy lately, as well as grateful for my children despite the fact that they are driving me absolutely crazy. In the last month, three children have died in Los Gatos, the town where I live. A middle school boy took his own life, possibly because his girlfriend broke up with [...]
Shabbat ends ends and the week begins. It seems like time starts again. We finish reading the Torah and we begin again with the first portion, the first words of Genesis: “In the beginning.” These thee words been translated many ways, but scholars seem to argue that the words tells us something about the creation not [...]
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